Dust II: Elysian Kingdom
by Master Avalon
Summary: Years after General Gaius' fall, Dust has been regenerated and goes back into the world of Falana to find out what's changed in the time he's been gone. Eventually, as the remaining four Blades of Elysium begin to surface, Dust must rise again in order to save Falana, the Moonblood kingdom, and even himself from being consumed by corruption. [Post-D:AET/Major Spoilers/Minimal OCs]
1. Awake and Alive

_April 10, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 1 – Awake and Alive**

* * *

_"..as long as I live, I still have a choice."_

The stalagmite-ridden cavern was chilled and damp, covered mostly by darkness, save for two strange flameless lights that dimly illuminated the area around the wall they were mounted on. The lamps painted eerie shadows across the floor of the cave, creating a presence that tried to fill the lifeless void.

In between these two lights was some kind of anti-gravity field, which contained the body of a pale turquoise figure with long silver-colored hair, clothed only by a pair of lengthy pants with a bandage-like belt. He had short, pointy ears, an above-average physique, and a long bushy tail. The ends of the creature's legs appeared to be a mass of particles coming into form as if they were slowly regenerating. The figure just levitated there in the field, with eyes closed and body still as a statue.

_"We did everything right, Dust.. Everything we were supposed to do."_

Dust was his name. As time moved on, he began to recall the last few events leading up to his death. How he confronted General Gaius at the summit of the Everdawn Basin; how he declared himself as justice incarnate, created from the souls of the innocent Jin and the ruthless Cassius; and how he sacrificed himself for the Moonblood civilization to be able to return to its former glory.

But if he supposedly died, then how is he even thinking right now? How could these memories be coming back to him?

_"So, Mithrarin, you finally see the truth."_

The ancient Moonblood race was the reason for his very existence. Their leader, Elder Gray Eyes, was the one who merged Jin and Cassius' souls to create 'Sen-Mithrarin' - he who is born of the dust. With this memory, many more came into his unconscious mind. Memories of his adventures with his nimbat companion Fidget; of his battles wielding one of the Blades of Elysium, Ahrah; and of his countless meetings with the inhabitants of Falana's villages, one standing out the most: Jin's sister, Ginger.

_"When the Life Thread calls-"_

Dust suddenly gasped awake. He frantically scanned the area, then immediately wondered why he couldn't move from his suspended position. He tried to calm down, when the silhouette of an oddly-shaped sword came into his view from beyond the darkness.

"So you are finally awake, my friend," the sword spoke. It was Ahrah.

"Ahrah! H-How am I still alive?! Where are we..?"

"Calm yourself, Dust." Ahrah said as he shimmered brightly for a second, disbanding the field around Dust. He slowly descended and touched the ground with his feet, shaking a bit, but then progressively began to move more naturally.

"Okay okay.." Dust started as he sat on the cave floor. "One question at a time then; how exactly am I still alive? I remember being consumed by the lava in the volcano but.. I'm not sure how it's possible I'm still here.."

Ahrah speculated, "Of that I am not completely sure, but I theorize that it has something to do with you being comprised of two souls rather than one. As if only one of your souls has 'died' and the other still remains. But like I said, it is just my theory. However, I do know that you have been regenerating since shortly after you sacrificed yourself. I guided your fragile form out of the volcano to this location."

"Alright.. but why here? This seems like such a remote and random location," Dust responded.

"That is exactly why. This cavern is so far-removed from civilization that it was perfect to house an uninterrupted regeneration, which took quite some time, might I add."

"What? How long has it been?"

"Yet again, I am not completely sure, as this kind of thing does not happen often. If we are to be sure, we will have to ask someone when General Gaius fell, then we will truly know."

As Dust took in all of what Ahrah told him, he slowly got up from the ground and reached toward the handle of his sentient blade, eventually gripping it tightly like all warriors should.

"Let's go."

* * *

**[Hey people, this is my first attempt at a fanfic, but I have a ton of amazing ideas that I'm in love with so I want to get them out and hopefully some people will enjoy it :D Dust is one of my favorite games ever so I want to show my love with this fic.]**


	2. Breakout

_May 9, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 2 – Breakout**

* * *

Grasping Ahrah firmly in his hand, Dust bounded through the long cave tunnel towards the light of the exit, as he felt the air around him slowly get colder. The cavern was also getting slightly smaller as he moved towards the opening to the outside world, worrying that maybe he wouldn't even be able to get out.

But sure enough, Dust burst through the entrance of the cave, suddenly being overwhelmed with the sight of blinding white snow cascading over seemingly infinite mountains. A strong bone-chilling wind was also quick to greet Dust, as it blew directly in front of the cave's entrance, almost knocking him off the foothold until Dust was able to crouch down and gain his balance. He was shaken, and had to pause for a bit to catch his breath.

"D-Damn it Ahrah, why didn't you tell me we were this high up AND in the Blackmoor Mountains?! I'll freeze to death here!"

"Well then it'd be best if we found a village nearby, wouldn't it?" Ahrah suggested, as if they had any other choice.

Dust gave a sarcastic look as he began surveying the area around the foothold outside of the cave, trying to determine if there was a safe way to climb down the mountainside to get to better ground. He cautiously reached his leg down to gain some traction on the rocky ledge, then brought his other leg to the same place. The rough texture of the mountain was almost unbearable without his boots, or any shoes for that matter, but he just had to deal with it. Holding Ahrah awkwardly in one of his hands, Dust slowly traversed down the mountainside, being as careful as he could not to misstep or lose his grip. He couldn't afford breaking his back _and_ freezing to death so early after his return.

After a good amount of time, Dust finally touched down to the snow-covered ground at the base of the mountain. The cold sensation against his bare feet sent a chill up his spine, but he shook it off and quickly pressed on. He had to hurry; he was already feeling his fingers begin to go numb. He ran as fast as he could across the frozen tundra, with seemingly no sense of direction; a desperate attempt to find a village that hopefully had some source of heat.

"Th-There!" Dust let out in a shivering tone as he saw the faint image of a small village in front of him. His vision was a bit blurred, and was made even worse by the dense flurries of snow that flew through the air around him, but he knew that some form of life was there in the distance.

'Small village' was a bit of an overstatement; there were only three houses huddled together that made up this mountain settlement. The houses were simply wood cabins; although cramped, they were perfect for insulating heat and protecting from the harsh conditions. Dust sure as hell wasn't picky, so he hurried to the first house he could reach. Bursting through the doorway as quick as he could, Dust stumbled and leaned against the wall, exhausted and shivering.

"Help.. W-Warmth.." he mumbled as he dropped Ahrah and slid his back downward slowly, hitting the floor in the end.

An older female came quickly to his attention. She was of relatively good height; a little taller than Dust. Her hair was long with two large bangs in the front, and a single huge ponytail in the back. She had long, thin, downward-drooping ears, and wore what seemed to be a traditional kimono. The woman carried Dust with his arm over her shoulder to the far end of her single-room home, and sat him in a wooden rocking chair across from a large fireplace.

Turning to a chest next to the chair, the stranger opened it and pulled out a few heavy blankets, and wrapped Dust in them. "There you go, sweetie.. You'll be fine."

"Thank y-you.." Dust whispered; it was all he could say before passing out.

* * *

A few hours passed, as the morning slipped into early afternoon. The snow storm outside the log cabin didn't show any signs of letting up, a clear contrast in temperature to the immense warmth of the room Dust was resting in. Sitting up from his sleeping position, Dust slowly opened his eyes and stretched his limbs, feeling much more rested than he did when he first woke up this morning after he regenerated. He suddenly heard the muted shuffling of the feet of someone coming closer to him; it was the mysterious woman who had welcomed him into her home.

"Ah.. you're up, sweetie! Glad to see you're doing good," she greeted cheerfully as she handed Dust a blueberry muffin. "Baked that myself!"

"Oh, thank you.." Dust started as he accepted the snack from her, and started biting into it. "And thanks for taking me in.. what's your name?"

The woman pulled up another rocking chair from near the fireplace and brought it closer to Dust's chair, and sat down in it. "My name is Erin, nice to meet you! And you are?"

"..I am called Dust-"

He wasn't going to continue after that, but it seemed like Erin immediately interrupted him as her eyes lit up. "THE Dust?! Sen-Mithrarin?! He who is born of the dust?!"

"You actually know about me?" Dust perked up, surprised.

"Dear boy, everyone knows about you! You became a legend in Falana after you defeated General Gaius and ended his vicious reign of terror five years ago, but I never imagi-"

Dust interrupted this time. "Five years?! ..The things that must have changed in that time.."

Hearing their conversation, Ahrah hovered over to where Dust and Erin were seated, letting out his first words since they arrived. "Dust, there's no telling what we've missed in these lost years, we simply must find out what happened to everyone.."

"Oh my gosh, a talking sword?!" Erin exclaimed.

"..Yes, I am Ahrah.. Have you not heard of me as well?"

"Heavens no.. I knew Dust wielded a legendary blade, but only in my dreams would I have thought it could talk!"

"Okay okay, at any rate.." Dust intervened, "It's clear that we have to find out what happened while we were gone.. Erin, do you know of anyone named Fidget, or Ginger, or Elder Gray Eyes?"

Erin jumped up excitedly, "Elder Gray Eyes? Why, he's the Sovereign of Falana!"


	3. Come Back to Me

_May 16, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 3 – Come Back to Me**

* * *

"What?! The Sovereign of ALL of Falana?" Dust immediately reacted to what Erin had just told him and Ahrah.

"Why yes! See, after your triumph over General Gaius, and a little motivational speech from the Elder himself, a large group of people worked together for a long, long time- I think about three years it was -to construct a new home for the Moonblood civilization; a grand palace of wondrous design.. It really looks like a sight to behold in the photographs that my husband took when he was there! Elder Gray Eyes then declared himself as a peaceful ruler of Falana, and there were no immediate objections, so he oversees everything to this day."

"I must say, that really is a nice thing to hear after all these years. My old friend still never ceases to amaze me," Ahrah said proudly.

"Well then," Dust interjected, "It's clear that we need to travel to this palace and speak to the Elder.. and hopefully he knows where Fidget and Ginger are."

"It sounds like you care a lot about these people, dear.. Are they your family?" Erin asked, concerned. The expression that overcame Dust's face showed how much he really missed seeing them, and he knew an emotional reunion was certain. He could almost feel his eyes tearing up.

Dust regained his stern look. "Yes, you could say that.. I just need to talk to them as soon as possible."

"You should go then, I can tell this is very important to you, and if it's been five whole years.. then there's not a moment to spare!" Erin encouraged.

"But the snow storm.. I almost died out there."

"Oh don't worry about that, dear! Wait here," Erin said as she got up from her rocking chair and walked over to a closet on the other side of the small house. Opening it, she took out a heavy grey-colored cloak, with visible tearing on the bottom; it clearly had seen some use. She also gathered an old worn-out compass from the closet and put it in one of the cloak's side pockets.

She shuffled back over to where Dust was sitting and handed him the cloak. "I may not look like it, but I used to be quite the adventurer; a nomad actually. My husband and I once travelled all over Falana, but the years haven't been so kind to me.. Anyway, this cloak will keep you perfectly warm in that harsh storm, dear! I also put a compass in one of the pockets to help guide you; Aurora Palace is a long way southeast from here, right outside Aurora Village."

"Ahh, I remember Aurora Village quite clearly.. Thank you for everything, Erin. I won't forget you," Dust declared as he got up from his chair and bowed, when Erin suddenly jumped forward and hugged him.

She waited a bit before letting go. "Anything for you, Sen-Mithrarin. It was a pleasure meeting such a legend." And then she bowed just like Dust did before, and he smiled back at her.

Dust then took the heavy cloak that Erin gave him, and put it over his minimally-clothed body; it reached all the way from his shoulders down to his lower legs so only his ankles and feet were showing. He could already feel the thick coat retain the warmth of the house and the fire. The garment also came with a hood, which he reached back and pulled over his head. His ears fit perfectly into the specially-cut pouches that the hood was adorned with at the top. The cloak had sleeves, but Dust kept his arms and hands concealed inside its main body.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Erin exclaimed as she handed Dust a pair of tattered tan-colored boots, which she also took from the closet which contained the cloak. "These were my husband's back in the day, but I'm sure they'll still be great against the awful terrain out there!"

Dust took the boots from her and pulled them up his legs one by one, stomping lightly on the ground afterwards to make sure they were on as tight as possible.

"I can't thank you enough, Erin," Dust said wholeheartedly as he hugged her one last time.

She whispered back, "Goodbye, Dust," as he slowly escaped her arms and turned to the door to the outside, walking through the doorway and into the frozen tundra of the Blackmoor Mountains.

Although the snow storm was still going on strong, it did show a few signs of letting up. It was a little easier to see in it than it was when Dust first travelled to Erin's cabin, but it still wasn't clear as day in any sense of the phrase. The temperature was still blistering cold, but the cloak and boots that Erin gave Dust were helping keep him warm much more than he thought they would. Dust took the compass out from the cloak's side pocket and held it close to his face so he could see the directions as clear as possible.

"Southeast.." he mumbled to himself as he looked up from the compass and swiveled his head in the direction he wanted, and started to quickly dash the same way. The harsh wind blew viciously against the front of his body, but the cloak shielded most of him, save for the small opening in the hood for part of his face to show through, which was the only part of him that was truly feeling the effects of the chilling storm. Even with his heavy garments, he could hardly wait until he was out of these mountains and back into the calm weather he fondly remembered from his days five years ago.

And of course, he couldn't wait to just see everyone again.

* * *

Almost another full day passed; it was early morning. After making a handful of rest stops in various small caves along the path out of the Blackmoor Mountains, Dust and Ahrah finally made it back into the main forested region of Falana; they knew they were close to Aurora Village, but not quite. Dust assumed they were around the outskirts of the Sorrowing Meadow, due to the mix of decaying, leafless trees and trees with varying colors of leaves on them.

"We have to be at least halfway between the Sorrowing Meadow and Aurora Village by now.." Dust said exhaustedly, pulling the cloak's hood off his head and staring at his compass.

"Perhaps you should rest a bit more, Dust. This past day HAS been very taxing on you," Ahrah suggested.

Dust sighed. "Alright.. but only for a bit," as he walked over to the base of one of the trees and sat down under it, then leaned against it. He was sweating quite heavily, due to the rapid increase in temperature from the mountains. He lifted the thick cloak off of his body and set it down next to him. He relaxed and sighed again, this time more heavily than before.

Ahrah seemed concerned. "Something on your mind, Dust?"

"More like what isn't on my mind.." he said as he closed his eyes and held his hand to his head. "I'm just.. concerned about how everyone will react to me being, you know, alive.. and what if Fidget and Ginger aren't at the palace? Then we'll have to go find them.."

"There's no need to worry about that, my friend. No matter where they are, we will find them. And you know their reactions will be nothing but emotional and true to how they really feel about you."

"Thank you, Ahrah, I think that helps.." Dust responded as he got up from his sitting position, put his cloak back on, and looked down at his compass one last time. "C'mon, we've got a palace to find."

* * *

At last, Dust stood triumphantly stood outside the entrance to Aurora Village, and let out a sigh of relief. "Ah, now this definitely brings back memories.."

He slowly began walking past the stone wall gate, followed by the small decaying wooden fence that opened up at the end. Dust was a bit surprised that it looked so much the same as it did five years ago, if not a bit worse.

"I guess they didn't have extra time to attend to the village much if they spent all those years constructing the palace."

He continued past the sparsely scattered buildings and came to the next group of wooden fences, followed by the simple shack where he met the first inhabitants of the village long ago.

"Hm, where is everyone? I know it's been awhile but Bean and Calum should really be out here keeping watch.. or at least SOMEONE.."

"It IS early morning," Ahrah observed, "The inhabitants are likely still in their homes at this hour."

Dust scanned the area and noticed that the twig gatherings at the ends of the stone walls weren't lit with flame like they usually were. "Hmm yeah, the fires aren't lit yet, so you're probably right. But still, it would just be nice to see really anyone out here.."

Nevertheless, Dust continued through Aurora Village, walking past the more regal-looking buildings and homes that he remembered so vaguely yet so fondly. He walked up one of the stone staircases that were embedded in the path, where there were more homes and longer wooden fences.

"_This just feels too weird,"_ Dust thought to himself. "_It feels just like it did when I first came here.. like the calm before a storm.."_

Coming to an area where the ground had been dug out and had only wood frames and stone blocks keeping up the top layer, Dust jumped to the higher ground and continued on. He climbed another batch of stone stairs, up to more rock walls and another regal home in a more densely forested area than the rest of the village. Dust suddenly stopped at the top of the hill in front of the house.

"This.. This is where I first met Ginger. She seemed so distant back then.. I even called her bratty; how could I be so stupid..?"

"There's no use in beating yourself up over the past, Dust. What matters is now." Ahrah said comfortingly. "_Dust truly does have an impeccable memory.."_

"You're right.. Let's go," Dust said as he started walking down the path, slightly faster than before. "We can't waste any more time."

As Dust continued down the path past more stone walls and down more stairs, he began to see a strange foreign object come into view as the trees started to disperse more and more.

"Hey Ahrah, I see.. something different.."

The wall-like object was mostly an off-white color, with faintly-colored gold designs etched into the sides. It was fairly large, so much that the points where it both began and ended couldn't be seen, due to some trees obscuring the view. The more Dust dashed towards it, the more of it became unconcealed. When the trees were completely out of the way, the object was revealed; it was clearly the side wall of a huge castle-like structure.

Dust looked on in amazement. "That must be it, Aurora Palace!" His eyes lit up as he picked up speed and dashed quickly past the remaining houses and into the outskirts of the village.

He ran as fast as he could towards the castle, moving at an angle so that he could see the front of the building slowly come into view. He began to see gorgeous stained-glass windows and unlit, mounted gold torches on the front outside wall. Tall rounded towers with battlements at the tops were situated on each corner of the structure. The faded gold designs continued around from the side wall to the remainder of the wall space. Dust ran faster and faster, until he finally stopped directly in front of what he assumed to be the castle's main entrance doors, which were fronted by a heavy wooden bridge that spanned from the doors, across the moat that surrounded the palace, to where Dust was standing. The ends of thick metal chains were mounted onto the corners of the bridge, and reached back into openings on the palace's front wall.

"Erin was right, this really is magnificent.." Dust said in awe of the structure in front of him.

"An architectural marvel, for sure. I'm impressed," Ahrah agreed.

Dust slowly walked onto the bridge that crossed the moat, looking down into the deep trench filled with calm waters that came in from the river that the palace was built next to. His footsteps quietly echoed through the wood of the bridge. He reached the other side and stood in front of the oversized, ornately-decorated twin doors that towered over him.

He reached out his arms, put both of his hands on the doors, looked down, and sighed.

"Alright, here we go.."

* * *

**[Phew, finally got this done. I really did want it to be longer than the previous two chapters, and I think it was worth it :D And I hit two thousand words, so yay. Next chapter is going to be intense; I hope you guys can contain yourselves until then lol.]**


	4. Need

_May 31, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 4 – Need**

* * *

The double doors of the regal palace slowly and quietly creaked forward as Dust pushed on them simultaneously. The opening revealed an incredibly spacious foyer filled with several regal-looking pillars that stretched up to the top of the high ceiling. The pillars were aligned in rows on either side of the entrance and ran down the hall, stopping before two rounded staircases that led up to an indoor balcony with a set of twin doors at the top in the middle. There were also pillars in each corner of the room, as well as a door in the middle of both the left and right walls. Similar gold designs like the ones on the outside of the palace lined the inside walls as well, complimented by a few purple and pale yellow-colored banners that hung from the ceiling. Above the double doors on the back wall there was a surprising stained-glass mural of none other than Dust himself, triumphantly standing with Ahrah and Fidget at the summit of the Everdawn Basin.

"Wow.. This is unbelievable," Dust said as he walked somewhat cautiously forward across the smooth, glossy floor, scanning the area in awe. Each one of his steps let out a faint sound that echoed quietly through the entire room.

Just then, two guards came bursting through the doors on either side of the room, wielding decorated spears. One of them was a towering muscular guy with tan-colored fur, a thick face, a dark brown mohawk, and small but sharp green eyes. The other was slightly older while much skinnier and shorter, with navy fur and brown eyes. His slicked-back hair was grey and so was his slightly-lengthy beard.

They both glared in Dust's direction and shouted almost simultaneously, "Halt! Who goes th-"

But their words were cut off at the sight of Dust's easily recognizable head full of shiny grey hair and pale turquoise skin.

"Good lord.. Is it really you..?" the blue one said with doubt in his voice. The larger one was speechless.

They both ran towards Dust as he finally found some words to offer. "Bean.. Calum.. Yes it's me. I'm alive," he said with a soft smile as his voice echoed.

Bean and Calum finally reached where Dust was standing and embraced him tightly. It was clear that they missed him and were so glad that he was back; however it was that he was back. Dust was just enjoying the warm feeling of interaction once again.

They both let go from the hug as Bean started, "S-So how are you alive? We heard that Ginger and Fidget saw your spirit rise from the volcano but- Oh Calum! Go wake up.. well, everyone! This is huge!" Dust's ears perked up at the sound of Fidget and Ginger's names. He really hoped that they both would come through any of the doors in the palace, eager as ever to see him.

"Right, good idea!" Calum agreed as he ran up one of the rounded staircases to the top floor and through the double doors in the middle.

Dust responded, "Well.. how I'm back I'm not really sure of, to be honest. Ahrah has a theory but he doesn't have much of a clue either."

"Hm, hopefully the Elder has a better idea.. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see you're back!"

"Yeah, it'll be great to see him again.. Fidget and Ginger too.. They're here, right?" Dust was concerned if they really were or not.

"Yes, yes!" Bean confirmed. "Oh my, Fidget is constantly telling us all these insignificant things about you when you were travelling together; it's the cutest thing! And Ginger has been so-"

But Bean was cut off by yet another door-bursting, this time coming from the twin doors of the second floor. As Calum held the doors open, none other than the unmistakable spunky orange and white Nimbat came flying through as fast as she could.

"Duuuuuuust!" Fidget screamed with teary eyes at the top of her lungs, before she collided with him right in the chest, pushing him back a bit. He gently wrapped his arms around her tiny body and looked downward at her.

"F-Fidget.. I'm so happy to see you again.." he said, closing his eyes. Bean looked on with a huge smile on his face as Calum came down to where they were standing.

She kept her face buried in his chest, hiding the tears that were now streaming down her face. "I.. I missed you so much, Dust.. I couldn't stop talking about you, and.. and I just KNEW someday you'd be back.. You took a lot longer than any of us wanted but, but I was right! ..I just-"

"Shhh.." She was stopped as Dust interjected and petted her head. "I know, Fidget. It's okay. I'm back now and I won't leave again, I promise."

Fidget finally looked up at Dust's eyes, with her tears now slightly dry. "Your face is the best thing ever to me right now, you big goof.."

"Even better than marshmallows? Wow, I've been promoted," Dust joked as he laughed quietly.

Fidget laughed and smiled widely. "It's been waaaay too long since I've heard your subtle sense of humor, Dust.." She finally left his chest and started flying next to him. It was then when the next figure started to appear through the double doors.

She was a young adult female, most recognizable by her beautiful orange hair in a large ponytail and her deep dark blue eyes. She wore a regal white and gold dress, with light blue arm-sleeves, ankle bracelets, and sandals. Dust instantly recognized her; it was Ginger, the sister of one of the souls that Dust contained inside of him.

"Ginger!" Dust yelled as he began to run towards the stairs.

"Dust..!" Ginger yelled back as she lifted her dress up slightly and started to quickly descend the stairs. She met Dust halfway and immediately wrapped her arms around him tightly with her head turned to the side and eyes closed. He returned the hug and sighed deeply. Neither of them said a word for a bit; Dust knew that Ginger was a girl that let actions speak louder than words.

"So you're really back.." Ginger said at last. "And this isn't some crazy dream.."

"Yeah, it's really me, Ginger. I don't know how, but this is real."

She sighed and began again, "..Fidget and I chased you for as long as we could but, your spirit was travelling so fast.. But that doesn't matter now, because you're back.." It was then when she quietly started sobbing into Dust's shoulder. He held her closer as her crying grew slightly louder.

"Oh Ginger, it's okay.."

"I know," she said as she held back the tears as much as she could. "I'm just so happy, everyone missed you so much.. and now the emptiness you left is gone.."

"I'm really glad to hear that.. I missed everyone too, even if I wasn't conscious to know I was feeling it," Dust said as Ginger hugged him tighter, still sobbing a little.

"Sen-Mithrarin! You have returned to us!" A loud voice broke through the short silence, as a larger grey-skinned figure with long white hair and large white eyebrows came through the doors at the top of the stairs. He was slightly hunched over and wore a similarly-colored garment to Ginger, but more robe-like than her long dress. He also held his trademark blue and yellow staff, which was topped with a glowing orb surrounded by a few small, floating, oval-shaped objects. He also wore a purple scarf and cloth belt.

Dust looked up in surprise and began walking farther up the stairs until he met the figure at the top step. "Elder Gray Eyes.. It's an honor to be back in your presence," he said as he bowed his head slightly with a hand on his chest and on bended knee.

"No, no! The honor is all mine, Mithrarin," the Elder responded humbly, mimicking Dust's bowing gesture as Dust looked back up.

Ahrah chimed in at that moment. "Ah, it's a pleasure seeing you again, my old friend."

"It is a pleasure to have you back as well, Ahrah," the Elder greeted the sentient blade warmly.

Fidget then flew up to where everyone was gathered, with Bean following. "Isn't this great, Elder?! Dust is finally back!" the Nimbat exclaimed with a smile across her face as she cuddled Dust's cheek. He slightly smiled back in her direction.

The Elder closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes Fidget, it seems our prolonged wait has paid off.. Now everyone, I'm sure you all have questions, as do I, but if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Dust and Ahrah alone; let them know what's happened in this time."

"Aww, why can't I come?" Fidget nagged.

"I'm sure you already know since you've actually been alive, Fidget," Dust responded jokingly.

"Hmph.. FINE," she said, playfully annoyed as she flew past the group back through the double doors. Bean and Calum bowed to the group and went back down the stairs then into their respective doors on either side of the foyer.

Ginger walked past Dust and the Elder slowly and then looked back. "Don't worry, I'll watch her," she said softly as she giggled a bit and continued walking the same path Fidget traveled. Only Dust, Ahrah, and the Elder remained on the balcony.

"Ahaha, as you can see, everyone's just as they've always been," the Elder said as he started back towards the stairs and began descending them, with Dust following him. They conversed as they slowly made their way to the twin doors on the ground floor of the foyer.

Dust sighed contently. "Yes, it's really nice seeing them again. And you too, Elder; you've certainly been busy these last couple years."

"No no, I haven't done much.. It's the work of all the remaining Moonbloods and all the citizens of Falana who were kind enough to help to build this palace for us; we really have them to thank for their efforts."

"Well it truly is a wonder," Ahrah observed.

The group of three reached the ground floor, where the Elder opened the doors on the back wall underneath the balcony, and they went in. There were three more doors inside the long horizontal hallway.

"That room on the far right there is the infirmary," the Elder gestured. "If you are ever injured, Dust, you're welcome there no matter what. This middle room here is the facilities, for showering, bathing, and so on."

He then walked over to the door on the right and turned back to Dust. "This room is the new home to someone you should remember quite fondly."

* * *

The room wasn't like the rest of the rooms in the palace, or at least the foyer. It was damp and moist. It was almost pitch black, with only one faint flameless light mounted on the back wall. This light illuminated the room just enough so a deep hole in the floor in front of the back wall was visible. The atmosphere eerily reminded Dust of the same cave that he regenerated and woke up in, nearly sending a shiver through his body. He was starting to get the idea that the Elder didn't want to just tell Dust what happened when he was gone; there was something else.

"You'll have to excuse these conditions, it's how she prefers it," the Elder explained, chuckling softly to himself as he walked towards the hole in the ground and stepped down onto a metal spiral staircase. "Come on now, Dust! We have much to discuss!"

Dust was a bit uncertain, but he knew he trusted the Elder, so he followed. The staircase led down to another room, presumably the basement, that was even more dark and damp than the one above it. There were stalagmites and stalactites lining both the ceiling and the floor, complemented by only four flameless lights, one on each wall. This time, Dust actually did feel a shiver go up his spine.

As the group reached the bottom, a figure started to emerge from the darkness in the middle of the room. Its floating silhouette was made up of two arms, a head with one large horn in the back, a dress-like bottom half with no feet, and a skeleton-like apparatus floating independently behind it. As the light started to reveal a bit of the figure's features and colors, Dust recognized it.

"Lady Tethys..!"

The green-colored female spirit was surprised. "Dust? ..Oh my, is it truly you?"

"Yes, by some miracle, I'm back. It's nice but.. really a shock to see you here, to be honest."

"I know, but the Elder invited me to live here so I thought I might as well, for convenience and emergency reasons," she explained. "..As long as it was to my specifications, of course."

Dust looked around at the room again. "Yeah this definitely screams Cirromon Caverns."

"Alright you two," the Elder intervened, walking towards Lady Tethys and standing next to her, facing Dust. "Now that you've caught up, we should start discussing the matters at hand."

Dust was a bit confused. "'Matters at hand?' Is something wrong?"

Lady Tethys hesitated for a bit. "..We have some concerns. Elder, do you want to begin?"

"Of course," Elder Gray Eyes started, clearing his throat and closing his eyes. "We fear that something is amiss in Falana. It's been a very quiet five years ever since you ended General Gaius' vicious campaign. Now, I'm not complaining about those glorious years, but.."

Dust stepped forward. "But..?"

The Lady picked up the Elder's words. "A few months ago, I started to sense a small disturbance in the Life Thread. Nothing big, but I couldn't become attuned to a small number of souls. It's as if they were blocked out, like an eclipse. I don't even know if the bodies of those souls have died, or if the souls were removed from their bodies. I can't even derive any knowledge from them or locate where they are in Falana.. I honestly can't place what could possibly be doing this; no one has ever—as long as I've been alive, at least—been able to manipulate the Life Thread in any way. It is simply only for 'viewing.' Like a library, if you will."

"And then it got worse," the Elder continued. "More souls were being blocked out again and again at random."

"Basically, If you could view the Life Thread on a map, there would be a lot of haphazardly-placed blacked-out areas," Lady Tethys added. "And to make matters even more complicated, recently I started not being able to tell who's soul belonged to who. Even if I can see someone's soul that isn't blocked out, I can't even attach a name to it. It really is becoming more and more of a tragedy.."

Elder Gray Eyes concluded, "Which is why we're so blessed that you're back, Sen-Mithrarin."

"Wow.. this is just unbelievable, that something like this could happen," Dust responded with a heavy heart. "But I promise, I'll help all that I can-"

"But that's not all," the Lady interrupted.

The Elder sighed heavily. Dust's face was overcome with concern.

"If the source of this disturbance happens to be an individual, and they somehow gain complete control of the Life Thread.. they could separate Jin and Cassius' souls from your body, and you would cease to exist."


	5. Scars

_June 15, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 5 – Scars**

* * *

"No.. that's not possible," Dust quietly let out in denial at what Lady Tethys had just revealed, shaking his head.

"Indeed it is," Elder Gray Eyes reconfirmed. "At your core, you are a product of the Life Thread itself. Just as your body was born of the dust, given form and traits from the two souls that you possess, it can very well be wiped out of existence.."

Dust couldn't be more dismayed, yet questions filled his mind. "Does that mean Jin and Cassius would.. be reborn?"

"Of that we are not sure; this kind of thing doesn't happen often, much like your revival," the Elder answered as he closed his eyes briefly. "But let's not dwell on this small factor too much. Now that you're back, I have high hopes that we can stop this imbalance before it reaches that stage."

Lady Tethys intervened, "Then on to the more current situation.. The plan is that we strike this problem at the source, whatever that may be. However.. it's going to be slightly difficult to do that without much information, as we are currently."

"No need to worry, Lady Tethys. I have one of my greatest reconnaissance soldiers out in Falana looking for anything suspicious as we speak. He should be back any day now. With whatever information he brings, we can send Dust out to investigate even further."

Even though he was still processing what was being said, Dust couldn't stop dwelling on his own thoughts. The fact he could cease to exist was almost unbearable. He still had so many questions to ask, about both things that he had just learned, along with topics he didn't get a chance to ask about in his previous time in Falana, but he didn't want to overwhelm the Elder or the Lady. Not to mention the room itself was still giving him chills.

"Dust," the Elder suddenly said, breaking Dust out of his small trance. "Do you have any other questions for Lady Tethys before we return to the surface?"

He tried to collect his thoughts, but his questions were more suited for the Elder. "I think that's all. Thank you, Lady Tethys, it was great to see you again," Dust said as he bowed his head slightly.

"All the same to you, Dust.." the Lady said humbly as she retreated back into the darkness of the room. Elder Gray Eyes nodded at Dust and began walking back towards the staircase to the space above, with Dust following slowly behind.

The Elder and Dust returned to the hallway outside Lady's Tethys' upper room. They both had remained almost quiet on the short walk back. Dust finally broke the silence as they stood in the hallway.

"Elder," he began. "Why didn't you want Ginger, or Fidget, or anyone else to know about the situation? How come you didn't tell them when it started happening..?"

The Elder sighed. "It's too alarming of a complication, Dust. I'll tell them when the time is right, but not yet. Especially since you've made them so happy after so long.."

"But they'll have to know eventually!" Dust raised his voice, before toning it back down a bit. "You know Fidget will want to come with me whenever I have to leave. And she'll need to know the whole story."

"I understand your concern.. I'll make the announcement to everyone in the palace very shortly, I assure you."

There was a pause before the Elder began again.

"Alright then Dust, since your return is such big news, we're going to a have a bit of a gathering in Aurora later today.. Everyone will be there so you can speak to them all at once. I'm going to tell Bean and Calum to go there and let everyone know."

Dust was a little hesitant. He wasn't completely sure if he could face all those people so soon, but he didn't object; he knew he had to sooner or later. "That sounds like a great idea."

He smiled and continued. "Good, good! Now, you should wait in the infirmary so we can get you out of that.. interesting outfit, and into a new one that suits you! I'll tell Ginger to meet you in there," he finished as he gestured towards the door on the wall to the far right as Dust looked over at it. "Farewell for now, Mithrarin."

* * *

Elder Gray Eyes exited the hallway through the door to the foyer, as Dust waved passively before heading down the hallway and into the infirmary. The room was fairly large, filled with a few simple medical tables with matching side tables lining the right wall. The other wall was occupied by some glass-doored cabinets containing medicines, equipment, bandage tape, and various other objects. A few of the cabinets didn't have glass doors so Dust couldn't see what was inside. There was also a regal wooden sink in one of the back corners.

After he was done observing, Dust went over to one of the tables and sat down facing the door. The table's surface was topped with thin square cushions that were subtly comfortable. He was just relieved to relax after all the traveling he had done. He leaned over the end of the bed and set Ahrah against the frame, who didn't say a word. But the silence was nice, for once.

A few minutes passed before Ginger entered the room, at which point Dust immediately turned towards the door to see her, wearing the same outfit as before.

"Hi Ginger.." Dust said softly. He was still trying to get used to talking to her, and everyone, again. It was a weird feeling as if he was a stranger meeting someone for the first time.

Ginger closed the door behind her and started walking over to the table he was sitting on. "Hello again, Dust. The Elder said you needed some new clothes?"

"That would be nice," Dust responded as Ginger passed his bed and moved toward the sink in the corner. He continued talking with his back turned to her, assuming she could hear him fine. "Something more suited towards versatility and combat would help, since this cloak is mostly for harsh, cold conditions."

"I bet you're sweating under that thing then," Ginger observed as she laughed quietly, washing her hands in the corner sink.

Dust suddenly realized that she was right. "Wow, yeah I am," he said as he began to remove the cloak from his body.

"Uh.. you do have pants on under there, right?" Ginger asked jokingly, but awkwardly.

Dust chuckled back at her. "Don't worry, I do."

As he lifted the cloak completely off and over his head, Ginger gasped at the sight of a few large gray scars across Dust's back and some near his shoulders.

"What's wrong, Ginger?" Dust wondered as he turned his head to look behind him.

"You have some really big scars on your back.." she started as she moved closer and felt Dust's back gently. "Does that hurt?"

Dust slightly perked up at the touch of Ginger's hands. "No, it feels nice actually. They must be just leftover from my fight with Gaius. I guess regeneration doesn't heal scars."

"Interesting.. it's good they don't hurt though," she responded happily. Dust nodded. "Ok, I'll take your measurements for the new outfit now."

She took out a measuring tool and held it up to Dust's shoulder, then lifted one of his arms out as he complied, stretching the instrument's tape from his back to the end of his hand.

"I didn't know you were a couturier, Ginger."

"Oh no, I'm hardly a professional," she explained as she wrote down the numbers then continued on to measure Dust's back. "I just learned a bit from my mother, and I only design for the people here in the palace and sometimes the residents of Aurora."

Dust smiled slightly. "Still, it's impressive."

Ginger was lucky that Dust wasn't facing her so she could hide her slight blushing, but she quickly shook it off. "Could you stand up, Dust?"

"Sure," he agreed, getting up from the table and walking over to the other side where Ginger was. She then kneeled and held the measuring tape near the floor.

"Hold this down for me," she nicely commanded. Dust moved his boot over a bit to hold down the end of the tape, while Ginger stood back up and held the instrument up to the top of Dust's shoulders. "Are these pants alright for you, or do you want new ones?"

He looked down at his pants, which were torn at the ends of each leg, ending at about the middle of his lower legs. He didn't really mind though, as long as they were comfortable. "Nah, these are fine, you don't have to worry about making new ones."

Ginger smiled. "Alright, any specifications for the design then?"

Dust really wasn't one to get concerned over appearance, as long as he could fight and was mostly covered up to minimize damage. "I really just need something that'll be good for when I'm fighting, and you know how I used to dress, so I suppose just follow that as a guideline." He looked down again, this time at the old boots Erin gave him. "And whatever you think works for the shoes."

"Sounds good, I'll get working on this right away. Oh, and Elder Gray Eyes said to meet him in his room after we were done, just go up the stairs and his is the door in the middle," Ginger instructed cheerfully.

"Okay. Thank you, Ginger," Dust responded, leaving the cloak and boots behind, picking up Ahrah from the bed frame, and exiting the infirmary. Ginger smiled contently as he left.

* * *

"I saw some strange things over in Aura Village. People moping around, not acting themselves.. However, the ones who were staying at Hotel Clarity were just fine, from what I saw at least," a young teenager explained what he had observed during his recon mission.

This boy wore a simple outfit of pale blue pants, a white and gold shirt, a bandana, and no shoes, complemented by an armor and armband combo on his left shoulder, with a long glove on his left hand. His fur was reddish-brown while the front of his face was a lighter shade, and his long blonde hair covered his right eye but exposed his other, which was deep blue in color.

Elder Gray Eyes listened as he sat in a highly regal throne against the back wall of his room. The room was large, but the right and left sides were blocked off by high, thick curtains, hiding the remaining space so it just appeared to be a slightly wide hallway leading down to the throne.

The Elder rubbed his chin. "Yes, that's very interesting.. It might just be the first lead to the source of our problem. Aura had always seemed to be a peacef-"

Dust entered at that moment, unaware that he was interrupting a conversation.

"..Corbin?!"

"No way..! The Elder wasn't lying!" Corbin's eyes lit up as he ran over to Dust and hugged him, letting go quickly. "Y-You're really alive, Dust!"

"Corbin.. it's so good to see you, and all grown up like this," he said, placing one of his hands on Corbin's shoulder. Dust was just a bit taller than him, which was strange since Corbin used to be about half of Dust's height just a mere five years ago. "How's Colleen doing?"

Corbin rolled his eyes playfully at the mention of his sister. "Oh she still worries about me, you know how she is. But for my sister, she's been doing fine, haha."

"Good, good. So what are you doing here?"

Corbin confidently explained, "I just returned from a reconnaissance mission out in a nearby village. As I was just telling the Elder, I've noticed some suspicious activity there.."

Dust looked past Corbin to Elder Gray Eyes, who was just getting up from his throne and walking towards them. "So, he knows?"

The Elder nodded. "Of course. I've had him out in the field since the day we found out about the disturbance, but this is the first case of anything to come up."

Corbin looked toward the Elder. "I'm just glad my training is finally being put to use!" He turned back to Dust. "I was trained in stealth and light combat under Sanjin pretty much right after you left us, Dust. I'm a hero just like you!" His eyes lit up as he spoke to his idol.

"That's really great, Corbin," Dust said with a smile on his face. "I'm sure you'll be a huge help." A wide grin came across Corbin's face as he closed his eyes and slightly blushed in pride at Dust's compliment.

"Yes Corbin, you've been a great asset to this investigation," the Elder added to Dust's previous praise. "However, I need you to continue searching for new and odd developments. Search to the north of Lake Nadir, around Alcaeus Village; we don't have much ground covered there."

Corbin saluted then bowed. "As you wish, Elder Gray Eyes!" He turned to Dust again. "See ya around, Dust!" The door shut after the young boy left post-haste, leaving Dust and Ahrah with the Elder.

"So, Mithrarin," the Elder started. "We still have some time before the gathering in the village, so now would be the time for you to ask anything that's on your mind."

If only the Elder really knew how much was on Dust's mind right now. He just came back from the dead and it hasn't even been much longer than a single day, yet he was overwhelmed with information to process. He didn't quite know how to feel. Despite feeling like he knew who he was and being protective of both souls inside him in the moments before his fight with General Gaius, he now felt as if he still was facing an identity crisis and was completely vulnerable to this shrouded corruption that was all too real. Was this simply due to the regeneration process? Were his feelings 'reset' to before his truth-discovering journey? He needed answers. Ones that would give him some peace of mind. Ones that he didn't have a chance to obtain during his previous life.

But now he had that chance.

"I want to know if you have any idea how my regeneration was possible. Ahrah had a theory but I want to know what you think."

The Elder thought for a bit. "I suppose in your situation, regeneration isn't quite the appropriate word."

"It isn't? What do you mean?" Dust wondered.

"Well, you have the souls of Jin and Cassius inside of you. But they are not fused as one entity. They are separate, only rooted and joined by your body. What I'm saying is, it's highly probable that one of the souls is now laying dormant, while the other is still active. Which soul is in which position is another story, however. Think of it like the 'cats have nine lives' saying, but you only have two. ..Well, one now."

"So.. how would I get the dormant soul to become active again?"

The Elder closed his eyes, knowing that he didn't have all the answers Dust was seeking. "I don't really know, to be honest.. But it would take a huge concentration of magic to make that happen, no doubt. Probably the same concentration, or even more, that was originally used to forge the Blades of Elysium so long ago."

"Yeah, that leads me to my next question," Dust began. "How and why exactly were the Blades of Elysium created? And what happened to the other four?"

"..Come, Dust," the Elder said after a pause, walking over to the curtain on the left of the room and pushing it open a bit, revealing a low table and a few floor cushions. "We may need to sit down for this tale."


	6. That Was Yesterday

_August 15, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 6 – That Was Yesterday**

* * *

_Long ago, the Moonbloods were known not by that name, but by the name "Cynthak". This ancient race was among one of the most relevant groups in all of Falana. But even so, they were also known and treated as outcasts; the other civilizations of the land outnumbered them greatly._

_At one point, a war emerged between the Cynthak and one of the other groups. The Cynthak were at a disadvantage due to their already small numbers, however. Hundreds perished, and things were looking bleak. Unless they wanted to leave their entire race to be wiped out, the Cynthak had no choice but to retreat from the war, but not before the leader of the opposing side declared them as cowards for backing down. The war taught the Cynthak a powerful lesson: they needed a better way to defend themselves in times of crisis._

_The Cynthak, like the Moonbloods of today, were a race that praised the moon. They believed that the life of their race came from the moon's own energy, and they also believed it was the source of magic on this planet. The Cynthak leader and a group of his smartest denizens began to research for small instances of any trace of the moon's energy that had reached the planet, anything that would help them engineer any kind of defense against threats to their people. Efforts were futile and weak, but the leader did not give up hope._

_However, for unknown reasons, the Cynthak civilization eventually fell._

_As I've mentioned before, they kept no records of their history up until that point; all that anyone knows is from stories that were passed down through the years. One theory is that the Cynthak simply split up after not cultivating any significant results from their research, while another suggests that the leader went mad and caused the downfall himself, but either way, we don't know for sure._

_Many decades later, a descendant of the Cynthak leader started the research back up again, and this time it became a mission with two goals: the original goal to create a defense against threats, and now to discover a way to extend the lifespans of individuals, apparently brought upon by the previous leader's death. This descendant gathered a small group of some remaining Cynthak citizens and began their research._

_Eventually, one of the scouts found a trace of moondust: a very rare occasion of a shred of the surface of the moon itself that made its way to the earth. Using their own knowledge along with this small amount of moondust, they were able to harness the fabled "Way of the Flameless Light", which we still wield today. It was then that the current leader coined the name "Moonblood" to replace Cynthak, representing a new era for the race as they continued researching moondust._

* * *

_It was years later that I was born into this small group of remaining Cynthak, or "Moonbloods" as they now called themselves. I was taught everything about the archaic Cynthak and modern Moonblood races by my parents; my father was one of the researchers under the leader himself. I then in turn became so fascinated with this enigmatic moondust, that I wanted to help my father and the current leader in any way I could, so I joined the scouting team when I was very young. I often went on missions alongside my father. But eventually, in my middle-aged years, my father became deeply ill with a rare disease. He passed on to the Life Thread in short time, leaving me to take his place on the Moonblood leader's team; by then I was well trained._

_A bit after that, the leader called me to a meeting with him and three other of his most trusted research members. He revealed to us that he had predicted a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence that was to happen that night: a stardust shower. Considered to be a gift from the moon itself, stardust was even more rare and precious than moondust. This might've been our one chance to create the ultimate defense, he told us. So, we prepared five simple blades, with which the leader planned to use to absorb the falling stardust. In conjunction with the Way of the Flameless Light and our own souls, he proposed that the resulting reaction would transform the common blades into weapons of immense power._

_We five then traversed to the area now known as the Abadis Forest, to a location in a glade where the leader predicted that the stardust shower would occur. We waited for hours, until the leader pointed up at the night sky, where we all witnessed a glowing stream of the mystical stardust coming down to where we were standing. The leader commanded us to hold our respective blades up in the air and focus our magic into our soul, an order which we followed involuntarily._

_The stardust fell closer to the earth, and as it came into our vicinity, it quickly spiraled into each of our weapons. I felt a strong surge of energy, and that's when I knew that the stardust was indeed reacting with my built-up magic, tingling my very soul. I could tell the other four were experiencing the same feeling as well. When the stardust completely disappeared into the blades, they began to grow and transform into strange and wild new appearances. They were clearly no longer normal weapons. Christened by the leader as Ahrah, Baelrah, Cyrah, Devahl, and Evah, they were now Blades of Elysium, named after the mythological Elysian gods from long ago._

_Our leader was overwhelmed with the success of the mission. He praised the moon repeatedly and we praised with him. We knew that all the hard work that had been done ever since the great war had finally paid off, that we could now stand against any threat. However, it wasn't long after completing one goal before the leader became almost obsessed with working towards the second goal with much more grandeur: living forever. He proposed that with an even greater source of the moon's energy, he could engineer a potion that would cause an individual to never die of natural causes._

_The leader then suggested that each of us four take a group of Moonbloods and researchers to each corner of Falana, while he stayed in the center, and continue searching for more traces of the moon's energy. The other three members of our small group were in denial at first, but eventually agreed. So we split up into five separate mini-colonies of Moonbloods and continued our seemingly neverending investigation. With our leader situated in what is now Aurora Village, one group settled in the Blackmoor Mountains, one in the area to the far west of the Cirromon Caverns, another in the Ivydale Glen, and my group in the Everdawn Basin. We each took our own Blade of Elysium that we had crafted, for our ultimate defense. As you might've guessed, my blade was Ahrah._

* * *

_Years of researching went by, with little to no communication between our groups occurring. Then one day I received a pleasant surprise: Ahrah began to speak. He said that he only communicated when it was necessary, hence why he had said nothing up until then. I was momentarily shocked to hear a sword talk, but unfortunately, his message was of grave importance. He told me that one of the other leaders had passed away, and her Blade of Elysium, Devahl, had vanished, which Ahrah temporarily sensed when it happened. Apparently, when the Blades of Elysium were forged, a piece of their wielder's soul broke off and became fused with their respective weapon. So, when the wielder returned to the Life Thread, their Blade couldn't link with their soul, and it disappeared into thin air. I was immensely distraught and worried._

_Ahrah calmed me slightly; he said that it was highly unlikely that Devahl just vanished forever, but instead that she had just become dormant and her location was randomized to somewhere hidden in Falana, as a defense mechanism. I wanted to commence a search for her, but Ahrah warned that would take an unprecedented amount of time and resources, and that we had no clues where she would be. I listened to his advice somewhat reluctantly, and continued the research with my group._

_However, over the next several few years at random intervals, the other leaders began to pass on to the Life Thread as well, with their respective Blades of Elysium vanishing, indicated by Ahrah feeling the same surge of energy as when Devahl vanished. I decided that this was unbearable, so I took our group back to the center of Falana where the original leader's group was settled. But when we got there, we found everyone gathered in one single tent. The leader was on his deathbed. I went up to him, and in his weakened state he explained his theory that the resulting reaction from creating the Blades of Elysium actually shortened each of the lives of the people who were present. Then with his final words, he entrusted me with the fate of the remaining Moonbloods, and to keep our race alive, forever._

_Whether or not his theory was true, I had to keep his ambition going. I announced to the group that we were going to reunite with the rest of the colonies of Moonbloods scattered in Falana and settle in one area, and that I alone would continue the research for the secret to living forever. I didn't want to take the chance of anyone else to possibly suffer the same fate as the other four leaders by being exposed to harmful energy. I myself would take the risk in continuing the search._

* * *

_Not too long after I established a settlement for the remaining Moonbloods to live in, I was out researching in an extremely desolate area to the far east of the Everdawn Basin, when I at long last discovered something marvelous. A small chunk of a white, cratered stone was slightly buried in the dirt. It was a moonstone, a very piece of the moon itself that fell to earth. It was above both moondust and stardust in terms of strength and rarity. I never thought I would see one in my entire life. But I knew I was blessed to find it, and it very well had the potential to hold the secret to eternal life._

_I took the moonstone back to our settlement and began analyzing it. Using the moonstone and all the knowledge I had accumulated in my years up until then, I was able to engineer a small amount of a potion that I believed would extend a lifetime. Unfortunately, the potion was only enough for one use, so I tested it on myself._

_That was over 200 years ago._

_Clearly, it's apparent now that the experiment was a success, but back then I wasn't sure if the potion worked or not, so I was still cautious. I wanted to protect Ahrah from vanishing like the other Blades of Elysium had in the past. He could've been the last remaining defense for our race. I thought if there was some location that could act as a kind of sanctuary for Ahrah to be kept safe, and if we ever needed him or he needed to be wielded by a hero, he would be there for us to access._

_In my countless travels, I remembered when I learned of the Nimbat clan. As you may know from Fidget, the Nimbats harness a natural magic power that makes up for their small size and reclusive nature. I decided to entrust the Nimbats to look after Ahrah, since their magic would act as a sort of anchor so he wouldn't vanish, should I return to the Life Thread. So I secretly left Ahrah in the care of the Nimbats, but not before instructing him that if anyone related to the activities of Moonbloods was to summon him in the future, he must heed their call. And of course, that's why he came to you when you were created. You were his fated swordbearer._

_After that, I returned to the Moonblood settlement, and led my people through over 200 years of a peaceful existence, at least until General Gaius wreaked his havoc on our civilization those several years ago. I still wondered every day what had happened to the remaining Blades of Elysium, and even searched for them at times, but as I got older it became less and less of a possibility. I was satisfied our current situation though, so I didn't trouble the others with things far from our reach. We were doing fine and that's what mattered._

* * *

"Does that answer your question, Dust?"

Dust's mind was overwhelmed. "Y-Yes, perhaps a little too much.."

"Well," the Elder started, "Knowledge is a valuable asset. I figured you'd like the full version of the story, otherwise you'd have even more questions."

"That's true," Dust said as he tried to wrap his head around everything the Elder had explained. "..So if we somehow found the remaining Blades of Elysium, my dormant soul could become active again?"

"With the concentration of magic that the united Blades would give off, it's possible, yes. But that is a completely farfetched mission at this time, Mithrarin. We must concentrate on the matter with the Life Thread corruption first and foremost."

"Yes you're right, Elder. So, when is the meeting starting at Aurora?"

The Elder turned upwards to look at a clock on the wall. "About ten minutes. I think Ginger should be done with your new outfit by now, so she'll be here any second."

Then a minute later, Ginger entered the room and pushed the curtain to the side before walking over to Dust and the Elder, carrying some folded garments in one arm and a pair of golden gladiator-like sandals in the other hand. "Hi again Dust, Elder."

She moved over to Dust and handed him everything she was holding as he stood up. "Hope you like it, Dust. I tried to make it very.. _you_."

"Thank you for doing this, Ginger, I'm sure it's great," Dust responded with a smile, as Ginger smiled back.

"Ahem, now then," Elder Gray Eyes started as he slowly got up from the cushion he was sitting on. "Dust, Ginger and I will go to Aurora; the meeting is at the front gate, so get changed and I'll gesture you to come on stage when you arrive. Everyone will be so excited to see you."

"I'm excited to see them too.. it'll be nice."

The Elder started walking towards the curtain. "Yes, it will be a great moment for all of us. Let's go then, Ginger."

When they left, Dust was left alone behind the curtain with Ahrah. He sat back down and closed his eyes for a bit, getting lost in his thoughts.

Ahrah spoke up. "What is it, Dust?"

He held his hand to his head, rubbing it. "I'm.. just trying to process this information. It's so much to think about. What if the source of the Life Thread corruption has to do with the other Blades of Elysium missing? ..But then why did it take this long for it to become so relevant.."

"Even I do not know, Dust. But the answers may lie somewhere out in Falana, so we must take any leads we receive, and for now, that's the one Corbin gave us."

"I hope so, this whole situation really is a burden. I just want everything to be alright for everyone after our hard work," he responded as he began to unfold the garments Ginger gave him.

Ahrah comforted him. "I know it will, Dust."

He laid the clothes out on the table. The new outfit consisted of three parts. One: a gray long-sleeved shirt with black-colored cuffs, two magenta stripes down the middle that could zip open, a turquoise and magenta striped band around its hips, and a slightly ripped bottom, it was a bit like his old one but without the vest; two: a black poncho-like cloth that went over his shoulders, covering part of his upper arms, neck, and chest, which also had a ripped bottom all around; and three: the golden gladiator-style sandals. The ripped parts of the shirt and black cloth were reminiscent of his old satgat hat. In addition to these, he still had his turquoise pants from his regeneration.

Dust lifted the heavy cloak off of his body, and after shaking a bit of sweat off his fur, he picked up the gray shirt and put it on, following with the black cloth that went over it. The upper area of the cloth felt skin-tight against his neck, but was made of a material that breathed perfectly, as did the rest of the outfit. Rolling up the ends of his pants a bit, he leaned down and pulled the gold sandals onto his feet, wrapping a strap to the back of his ankles and more straps around his lower legs. He then picked up Ahrah from leaning against the table and rolled his pants back down.

"Well, time to face everyone.."

* * *

At the front gate of Aurora Village, a medium-sized wooden stage was set up, complimented by a large banner overhead which exhibited the gold-colored, ruby gem-centered Elysian emblem, a symbol of the Elysian Kingdom and Moonbloods alike, along with ornate designs on either side. Elder Gray Eyes was in the center of the stage, along with Ginger and Fidget, and the mayor of Aurora, Bram, accompanying him. In the crowd was the entirety of Aurora's warmblood inhabitants, along with a large amount of Moonbloods mixed in, who have made their home in Aurora over the last five years. Elder Gray Eyes was already speaking to the crowd, now briefly retelling the events leading up to and surrounding Dust's death.

"..Our Sen-Mithrarin put up a valiant fight against General Gaius and was eventually victorious over him, but not without sacrificing himself to liberate our Moonblood race. Even though we saw his spirit rise out of the volcano, we could not keep up with it, and we lost its trail. For five long years, we thought that Dust had disappeared from us for good. But, a miracle has br-"

It was that moment when Dust was walking up behind the crowd.

"A miracle has brought our savior back to us!" Elder Gray Eyes announced as he gestured proudly to the back of the crowd. Everyone turned their heads and then their whole bodies when they saw Dust in the flesh, immediately cheering loudly right after. Dust was a bit overwhelmed, but maintained his stoic expression as the crowd parted when he started moving toward the stage. As he walked through, he saw many familiar faces including Bean and Calum, the shop owner Mordecai, the equipment supplier Fale, Moska and Sarahi, the schizophrenic Reed, the Moonblood army commander Sanjin, and Corbin's sister Colleen, among many others. They were all so happy to see Dust, and he was truly just as happy to see them.

When he came to the stage, Dust stepped onto it and stood next to Elder Gray Eyes, turning back to the crowd. The Elder then continued his speech.

"The savior of the entire Moonblood race, Sen-Mithrarin, has been reincarnated, and is here to help us once again in our time of need," Elder Gray Eyes announced, then hesitated for a bit. "Do not fear.. but there is a disturbance with the Life Thread."

There was some murmurs in the crowd, but they continued listening.

"We have been doing everything in our power to figure out the source of this dilemma, but now that Dust is alive once more, I'm confident that he will again show us great results!"

Again the crowd cheered. Dust was a little taken aback that no one there showed too much concern for what's happening to the Life Thread, but that just made him realize how much these people really depended on him and trusted him with protecting them. He was, and is, their hero.

"Would you like to say anything, Dust?" The Elder asked, stepping to the side while Dust moved to where he was standing.

He paused for a moment, when Fidget flew over to him, landing on his shoulder and nuzzling his cheek. Dust turned his head to her and smiled a little, before he started speaking.

"..I just wanted to say, I missed you all so much. Even if I wasn't conscious while I was gone, I immediately thought of everyone the very moment I could think again. I.. I do not know how I'll be able to fix this problem that's facing us, but I'm going to use all of my knowledge, skills, and my very soul to make sure everything goes back to normal. I promise I will not let anyone else get hurt ever again."

The crowd slowly started applauding, which erupted into louder applause and cheering. As they went on, Ginger ran over to Dust and embraced him tightly while Fidget joined, with Elder Gray Eyes and Mayor Bram smiling humbly at them. As the group started to quiet down, the Elder took out an adornment of some kind from his coat and walked over to behind Dust, while Ginger and Fidget let go of him.

"Now, Sen-Mithrarin! By the honor of the Elysian Kingdom and the entire Moonblood clan, I hereby dub you.. Royal Guardian Dust!" Elder Gray Eyes shouted as he lifted the adornment into the air, then put it around Dust's neck. It was a scarf-like object that rested on Dust's shoulders close to his neck, which hung down in an upside-down triangle shape to his chest in the front and between his shoulder blades in the back. From the back, there were two long ribbons with diagonally-forked ends that flowed downward to the back of his knees. The entire adornment was light gold with slightly darker gold-colored trim all around. In the center, over Dust's chest, was the same Elysian emblem from the stage's banner, which was also the same one present on Ahrah.

Dust lifted the center of the "scarf", stared down at the Elysian emblem, then looked back up. "Thank you, Elder.. and thank you, everyone."

For a final time, the crowd praised Dust, while Ginger and Fidget hugged him emotionally once again.


	7. The Last Resort

_December 31, 2014_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 7 – The Last Resort**

* * *

It was late at night, in a dark room only illuminated by the moon's glow shining through three stained-glass windows, two on either side and one in the middle of the back wall. Underneath the middle window was an immensely-large pipe organ, its funnels extending up the wall and some even bending at angles that reached outwards. A few of the pipes had gashes and scratches, and a select amount had even been converted into subtle candle holders, each containing a lit candle that dimly encased the room in addition to the lunar light. A somber melody silently escaped from the open pipes, filling the area with its presence.

The music's creator was a bat-like creature, sitting on a long bench and hunched over a series of piano keys at the base of the organ. He was tall and of slightly middle age, with light purple body fur, a white fur patch over the front of his face, and a black marking under each of his eyes. His hair was pure white with a black-dyed streak on his right side. He wore a fancy-looking, black suit with a white, collared undershirt, and white gloves. The suit also had a diamond-shaped tail which hung over the back of the piano bench. Long black pants with white cuffs at the ends covered his legs down to his ankles, wearing no shoes on his feet, which were pressing on the pedals at the base of the piano. Every piece of clothing had a few select yellow-colored elements, a color which his piercing eyes also shared. The wings protruding from his back were large, but were torn at the bottom and had a number of small slits in between their finger bones, wounds likely preventing him from flight.

As he continued playing his song, he passionately moved his upper body to the movement of his hands hitting the keys, engrossed in his creation. The melody momentarily picked up from a somber tune to become more of an erratic explosion of noise, before returning to its original state. Shortly after, a warrior-looking creature entered the room through two large church doors at the back wall, the wood creaking as they opened. He wore armor that twisted and bent in strange ways, with a few ornate protrusions and odd designs.

"My lord," the soldier began, "I have received word from one of our field spies that Dust has been seen making preparations for his journey towards Aura Village.. Should we intercept him?"

The organ player suddenly slammed his hands on the piano keys as soon as the soldier finished speaking, blaring a maddening sound that echoed throughout the entire room.

Without turning around, he questioned, "Excuse me, did I not tell you to address me as 'master' and nothing less?"

"..Of course, master."

He continued as if he was unphased, the music also resuming. "Leave him be. Even if this so-called 'Sen-Mithrarin' succeeds in whatever futile mission he's set on, he's far too many years too late. There's no way he'll be able to stop what's already been set in motion."

He paused for a moment to play a few quick, sharp notes on the organ, then grinned widely, whispering to himself, "..and I can't wait to wipe his disgraceful existence off the face of the earth."

* * *

The sun was on its way to make contact with the horizon in Aurora Village, as the sky turned to a blueish-orange color, foreshadowing the transition from late afternoon to early night. A small group exited the doors of Aurora Palace and gathered outside, which included Dust, Ginger, and Elder Gray Eyes. Dust held Ahrah in his hand while Fidget rested on his shoulder. It was just about time for Dust to make his way towards Aura Village to investigate the strange, contrasting behaviors of the citizens there, as observed by Corbin.

As the group was walking out, Dust thought of something. "Oh, Elder, I just remembered.."

"What is it, Mithrarin?" the Elder wondered as he and the rest of the group turned to him.

"After I regenerated," Dust began, "I found shelter in a cabin in the Blackmoor Mountains, the home of a woman named Erin, who explained a few things to me and Ahrah. What I'm wondering is, when you declared yourself as ruler of Falana, were there truly no objections from anyone?"

Elder Gray Eyes responded, "A very interesting question, Dust. You see, some years ago, there was a king by the name Longinus, who created a rule that Warmbloods could not associate with us Moonbloods. He once oversaw Falana, but stepped down from the throne and disappeared shortly after you defeated Gaius. With no prince to assume the role of king, the castle became abandoned, and the rule became forgotten, as it is to this day. So naturally, a new leader was much needed. The only other higher authority was my good friend Dangodo, current leader of the Kojose clan of ninja, but he and I came to an agreement that I'd be more fit as a ruler of an entire country while he stayed close to his people."

"Hmm.. so what did that king have against Moonbloods in the first place?"

"We do not know. None of us were able to question him or any of his followers about it, for if we were seen anywhere near his castle or land, he would've had us taken prisoner for sure."

"Thank you for the answers, Elder. I'm sure I'll have many more questions as time goes on, haha," Dust responded, before pondering for a minute. "Well then, I suppose it's time we make our way toward Aura Village.."

Elder Gray Eyes nodded. "Yes, of course. Just investigate the surrounding area and inside Hotel Clarity, and report back here at the palace once you discover what's wrong."

"Don't worry Elder," Fidget chimed in, "With me and Dust together, we can do ANYTHING!"

Both of them smiled at her. Elder Gray Eyes responded, "Haha, of course, Fidget. But still, good luck!"

"Thanks again, Elder. We'll be back as soon as possible," Dust reassured as he began walking down the path away from the castle, travelling southeast towards Aura Village, with Ahrah clenched in his hand and Fidget flying right next to him. She was probably more ecstatic than she'd ever been in the past five years now that she was with Dust once more.

"Ohmigosh this is so exciting, out on another adventure with my two best friends eeeee!" Fidget let out as her face lit up.

Dust chuckled and smiled at her. "Yes, it's great to be back with you too, Fidget. Though I don't think I can say the same for being back with another threat to fight.. I was actually hoping to have some kind of rest."

At that moment, Ahrah joined the conversation. "Dust, you were regenerating for five long years. Was that not enough of a respite?"

He thought for a minute as they pressed on, and even though he couldn't feel anything while he was regenerating so the time between being consumed by the lava and awakening in that cavern felt like a split second to him, he realized that for everyone else, it had been quite a long time; they had their break, but now this new threat is interrupting it. And no one else could do anything to stop it but him. He was their Sen-Mithrarin; their savior.

"You're right, Ahrah," Dust finally responded. "I can't be acting selfish at a time like this, not when the Moonbloods and everyone else need me again."

Fidget landed on Dust's shoulder. "Aaaand you have us! We believe in you, Dust!"

"I feel like I've said this so much already but thank you guys.. C'mon, let's get to Aura Village right away."

* * *

After crossing the splitting river that divided the two regions as night began to overtake the area, Dust and company arrived underneath an arch at the entrance of Aura Village. Dust didn't remember anyone mention that this village even existed, so it was probably established after his death, evidenced by the more modern-looking building styles that somewhat resembled those of Aurora Palace. It was a slightly smaller settlement than Aurora, and was arranged much differently. The whole village was built into a dug-out hill, where a few shops that also doubled as housing lined the inside of the hill in a semicircle shape. There were a couple steps that led up to the buildings in the same shape, almost like half of a coliseum, while in the center of the entire area was a large ornate water fountain. Behind the fountain right in the middle was a building that was much larger than every other one in the village, which had a very small sign that read _Hotel Clarity_. That's where Corbin said that everyone was acting differently than the rest of the people in the village, which only a few of them were outside of their homes.

"Okay, better start investigating," Dust said as he sheathed Ahrah in a strap on his back. He then walked over to one of the buildings where someone was sweeping outside in a sluggish manner. "Excuse me, are you alright?"

The villager slowly looked up. "Yeah I'm fine I guess, just finishing this up before going to sleep early.."

Dust was concerned, but he had to get some info. "Sorry, but could you possibly tell me anything about Hotel Clarity?"

"There's not much to it.. just a place to stay where everyone is happy ALL THE TIME," the villager responded, both raising his voice and giving Dust a blank stare right at the end of his statement. Fidget was shocked and immediately hid behind Dust, who also stepped back on his foot a bit. The villager then picked up his broom and stomped into his house, shutting the door behind him.

Fidget popped back out from hiding. "Geez WHAT was that guy's deal?!"

"Alright, we need to get into that hotel right away, something's up," Dust decided as he turned to the large building in the middle of the village. He ran towards Hotel Clarity as fast as he could, put his hands on the double doors of the entrance, and threw them open.

Immediately, Dust and Fidget were bombarded with beautiful visuals and an alluring atmosphere. On the inside, the space was quite dark and decorated intensely, with tons of fabric hanging from the ceiling, jewels placed strategically on objects, and large curtains on the windows, opened only slightly so a bit of the moon's light bled in. To the left side of the room, there was a large dining and bar area with many low seats, and on the right side was what seemed to be restrooms. Directly in front of the entrance and going towards the middle of the room were round tables set up in a pyramid shape with cushions on the floor around them, and farther back there was a lowered floor with more tables and cushions. These tables were placed in front of a large performing stage against the back wall, topped by large closed curtains hiding the stage's floor. The entire room was dimly-lit with yellow-orb covered bulbs, which seemed to be powered by the Way of the Flameless Light, indicating that the Moonbloods probably had something to do with this building's construction. There were dozens of people in all locations of the hotel, with very few empty spots, their conversations constantly filling the air. The front doors opening didn't even catch their attention.

"WooOOOW..!" Fidget exclaimed as she stared in awe. Dust didn't even know what to say, but this place didn't look like anything was wrong; quite the opposite actually.

Before they could even start looking around, a teenage girl cheerfully walked up to Dust to greet him. "Hello there! Welcome to Hotel Clarity, where our motto is 'The last resort you'll ever need'! May I have your names?"

"..Yes, my name is Dust, and this is Fi-"

Dust stopped himself when he suddenly realized that neither the villager from before nor this girl recognized who he was. Erin said herself; he became a legend, everyone knew about him. So why was it that these people didn't immediately know his name just by seeing him?

"You alright, Dust?" Fidget wondered, not aware of what Dust had noticed.

Dust shook his head out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine.." He looked at the girl again, who was just as confused as Fidget. "..My friend's name is Fidget, thank you."

"UMMM, okay," the girl awkwardly responded as she tried to regain her cheery composure. "I'll go tell Mirage about you; she's the manager here. She'll introduce herself real soon!" The teenager then turned around and made her way towards a door in the back corner of the room.

Fidget looked back at Dust. "HEY, we're at a hotel, so why don't we relax for a bit?"

"We're on a mission, Fidget. We can't just-"

"Aw c'mon! You even said yourself you wanted a break. Plus I'm curious about what that stage is for," Fidget explained before quickly flying off towards the back where the stage was set up.

Dust sighed and began to follow her. He walked to the right, going between the bar and the restrooms, avoiding as many people as possible, and coming to the lowered floor with the extra tables, which there were three of. The middle one was empty, so he cautiously stepped down and sat down on one of the cushions around it. Fidget was observing the stage decorations and feeling the curtains lovingly, all before peeking underneath them to see what was there, but seeing only darkness. She then flew back to sit with Dust.

"See," Fidget began. "This is comfy, isn't it? Why don't you just laaaaaay back.." She nudged at Dust's shoulder with her paws while she ended her sentence. He went along with it.

"Alright alright, you got me," he admitted playfully as he laid against the rim of the lowered floor section, which was fitted with similar material as the cushion he was sitting on. "Wow, that _is_ nice.."

Fidget smiled. "Sweeet, now we just sit back and rela-"

Suddenly, there was a quick ringing noise that rang through the whole room, which resembled the sound that comes from a wind chime. The ring was followed by the lights dimming even more than they were. Everyone in the hotel stopped talked immediately and turned their heads towards the stage, as if in preparation for some big event. Dust then felt uncomfortable being at the table right in the middle in front of the stage, but he snapped out of it quick. Fidget, however, was extremely excited.

The entire hotel was focused on that stage, as the curtains began to open.

* * *

**[Wow, I did NOT think it would be this long since my last update. Basically, I had to deal with the worst school semester of my life and a lot of stuff has happened, but I'm ready to keep working on this now that I finally have real free time again. I told myself I HAD to get this chapter done before the year was over so here it is :D I hope my fans are still around and excited to see more cuz I'm definitely excited to put more of my ideas into action :3]**


	8. The Grand Illusion

_March 25, 2015_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 8 – The Grand Illusion**

* * *

Large spotlights began to come on one-by-one, lighting up the stage tremendously as they did. Revealed by the intensified light were four female creatures frozen in strange positions, appearing to be dancers from their decorative outfits. Two of them stood towards the left of the stage while the other two were to the right, leaving a gap in the middle. A thundering drum roll began, with the lights flickering on and off to the beat. The drums sped up as did the light flickering, eventually transitioning into an entrancing melody.

Shortly after, a fifth creature slowly rose up from below the center of the stage, shrouded in a thick mist. The lights stopped flickering but the beat continued, and the fog that surrounded the figure began to dissipate, exposing her full form. She appeared to be a tall, young adult fox, clearly older than the other girls. She had light blue fur and wore dark teal skin-tight leggings and a looser, high-cut top which exposed her shoulders and arms, as well as her midriff. Hanging down from her necklace was a transparent poncho that went down to her elbows and right above her navel. She also wore a matching transparent dress that had four distinct ribbons flowing down to her bare feet. Her stunning silver hair was styled with bangs parting in the middle, a side fringe with a hair clip, and two large strands hanging down the sides of her face. Decorating her upper arms and hips were bright, diamond-shaped body sparkles, ornate bangles were worn around her wrists, and a blue gem was emblazoned on her forehead. Fidget watched her with sparkles in her eyes; this girl was simply captivating.

As the blaring music went on, the women began to dance. Their movement was graceful but also imposed a strange, violent feeling when coupled with the engulfing sound of the drums. Suddenly, two large torrents of water sprouted up from the floor of the stage on both sides, creating scattering color shards as the spotlights shone through them. The audience gasped and applauded, before the water reversed and flowed up again in smaller pillars around the whole outside rim of the stage. The bursts of water alternated and the streams took new forms, all while the girls continued dancing fervently. The woman who appeared last in the intro made constant eye contact with Dust, leaving him confused. Fidget just kept staring as if she was hypnotized. Total opposites.

The girls' movements transitioned from rigorous to slow and gentle, perhaps signaling the finale of their show. They carefully moved their bodies into frozen positions, posing symmetrically with the older woman in the middle, who yet again focused her gaze on Dust. This was becoming quite troublesome to him. A split second after the girls completely stopped moving, the lights began to flash on and off repeatedly as a barrage of water torrents shot into the air and seemingly disappeared into the ceiling, contrasted by two gradually rising streams that began to intertwine into a shape like a DNA strand; the water looked like it was defying gravity. The whole audience was stunned by the display, commenting and questioning it repeatedly.

"How do they do that?!"

"Why doesn't the water fall..?"

"It's probably just a buncha mirrors."

Dust and Fidget were both baffled. There had to be some weird magic or something going on here.

When the two strands met at the zenith of the stage, the lights stopped flashing and shone brightly, and all the water dramatically crashed down back into the floor of the stage. The girls all bowed in unison and applause erupted throughout the room, including Fidget. Dust clapped as well, though with a hint of uncertainty. Something was amiss. The oldest girl then got up from her bowing position, while the other girls remained the way they were.

"Thank you to everyone here for coming to see us tonight," she spoke loudly, engaging more applause from the audience. "And more importantly, thank you to our very special guest.. the famous hero of Falana, Dust!" She announced as she gestured towards him while one of the spotlights hovered over him, and all of the guests clapped once more. Dust was instantly surprised and incredibly confused. Why was it that the villager didn't recognize him and neither did the teenager who took his and Fidget's names, but now this girl and everyone else in the room apparently did?

While Dust was in his pondering state, the curtains had closed and the dancers had gone backstage, while the other hotel guests were back to their usual conversations. By now, the girl had jumped down from the stage and was currently standing right in front of him and Fidget. She leaned over them from above the recess in the floor the were seated in, and spoke in a slightly flirtatious tone. "Hey cutie, how'd you like the show~?"

Dust was taken aback. "U-Um, it was quite nice.."

"I LOVED it!" Fidget loudly interjected.

"Aw, well thank you guys. If you were thinking of staying the night, your rooms will be totally free; it's on me!"

Fidget looked at her in awe. "You can do that? What are you, the manager or something?"

The girl giggled quietly then answered, "Yes actually, I am! My name is Mirage, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!"

Dust joined in, somewhat reluctantly. "You too, Mirage.."

She smiled softly then began to turn around. "Alrighty, I gotta go take care of some things, see you guys later~!"

Fidget looked back at Dust, who was sitting there with a concentrated look on his face. "What's goin' on with _you_?"

"I just.. have an off feeling about that girl. She kept staring at me during the performance."

Fidget sighed. "That's 'cause she thinks you're cute, Mr. Clueless!"

"But Fidget," Dust began, somewhat ignoring her obvious, yet typical Fidget comment. "Don't you think it's weird that both the villager from before and the girl who greeted us when we got here didn't recognize me, but when Mirage said my name, the crowd cheered as if they _did_ know me?"

She now just looked as confused as Dust did.

"..What about you, Ahrah?"

The sentient blade spoke for the first time in awhile. "It definitely was strange.. I can't think of any legitimate reason that people wouldn't remember you. I think we should be on our guard around that girl."

"Well good thing our room is free because we're staying here to keep an eye on her," Dust concluded. "And to find out what's really going on."

* * *

Backstage, in what seemed to be a dressing room, Mirage and the four other dancers were sitting in front of ornate vanities and talking amongst themselves.

"How great is it that THE Dust is a guest in our hotel? He's so dreamy!" One of the dancers gushed.

Another girl joined in. "Yeah, Mirage _definitely_ has the hots for him."

"Aw stop it," Mirage responded playfully. "He's cute, but I couldn't handle going out with a famous guy like him.."

"Sure you could. He's well known, but he seems like he's probably really down-to-earth if you ask me," a third dancer commented. Mirage looked at her for a second, as if maybe she thought she really could have a chance with him.

The fourth girl added, "Buuut he's a traveler.. so you probably wouldn't see him like, at all!"

"Man, that would suck!" Mirage digressed. "I guess I'll just have to find some way to keep him here forever~!"

* * *

In one of the hotel rooms on the second floor, Dust and Fidget had fallen asleep in the two beds that were placed against the back wall across from the door. Ahrah laid in stasis against the backboard of Dust's bed, kept close just in case he needed him. The only dim light that entered the room was from the outside shining through the door crack.

Before long, Dust found himself in a dream. It was quite empty, with him simply floating in a dark abyss wearing only his pants, as he was when he went to sleep. He looked around but saw nothing but faint, swirling shadows below him. When he looked back up, he saw something small in the distance, getting larger as it came towards him. It flew past him, and he realized it was his old satgat hat. He turned back to see it disappear into the nothingness. Then as he faced forward again, Ahrah started coming towards him at a high speed. When Dust realized he was aimed at him, he quickly moved his body out of the way as Ahrah flew past him, creating a huge wind. Dust sighed, but then saw dozens more copies of Ahrah coming straight at him from the shadows. He dodged them as fast as he could, but not fast enough that some of them still grazed his exposed body. One of them left a scar on his upper arm, which opened up and started bleeding. The wound began to open up wider as more blood poured out, and suddenly the entire area was bathed in a dark red overlay, creating an ocean of terror. Dust thrust his hand against the open scar, which surged a consistent pain into his body.

Dust tried moving forward but didn't feel like he was going anywhere, because he most likely wasn't. Then, a large figure began rising from the void below him. It had no face, but it began showing an armor-covered body that looked oddly familiar. However, Dust couldn't recognize it, as if the part of his brain that stored that information was gone. As the figure towered higher above Dust's head, he realized how insignificant he was in comparison. The figure slowly outstretched his arms and then covered his head for a moment, before violently removing them, revealing none other than General Gaius' face. Dust's eyes widened as it became clear.

_"Why did you betray me, Cassius?"_

A telepathic voice pierced Dust's mind. "I-I'm not Cassius anymore.. and I tried to save you!"

Right when his response ended, several glowing red strands came up from the darkness and wrapped around one of Dust's wrists. He gasped and tried pulling against them, but they pulled him back down, and the voice spoke again.

_"How could you join those filthy Moonbloods..?"_

"I didn't chose to.. They needed my help and I wasn't just going to leave them.."

Again, more red strings came up to grab Dust's other wrist, pulling him down farther. He struggled against them but to no avail. "What do you want from me?!"

Bundles of red strands sprung from the ground one last time, wrapping around Dust's ankles and pulling them together, before dragging him down even more into the floor of nothingness, where the shadows began to consume his legs. The Gaius abomination receded into the ground so that his head was level with Dust's and their eyes met, leaving Dust intimidated beyond belief.

_"..I want you gone."_

With that line, the monstrosity reached out his giant hands to point at Dust's chest with his index fingers together. Dust was frozen at the sight of him slowly extracting a glowing teal sphere from within him. It was his soul. Then, Gaius thrust his hands away from each other in an instant, separating the one sphere into two; one in each hand. He started to close his hands into fists, and then suddenly crushed the souls in his palms, causing the red vines to pull Dust's body into the consuming abyss in a split second.

* * *

Dust jolted awake, sweating and breathing heavily. Fidget and Ahrah were both undisturbed. Nervously, he put his hand over his chest and felt his heartbeat, which pulsed faster than ever. He took several deep breaths before he felt a bit more relaxed, but still couldn't shake his anxiety completely. After lifting the covers off, he slid out of bed, quietly grabbed Ahrah, and left the room. He needed a walk.

After closing the door, Ahrah spoke up. "Dust.. What's wrong?"

"I had a horrible nightmare.. and I can't just sleep knowing something is happening in this hotel. We're going to investigate."

"Alright," Ahrah responded. "I'm with you, Dust."

Dust nodded and looked around the upper floor outside his room. The open hallway was similarly ornately decorated like that of downstairs. In the middle of the room was a fancy diamond-shaped rug with a Way of the Flameless Light-lit chandelier hanging from the ceiling above it. After observing for a bit, Dust noticed that all of the doors leading to the rooms had number plates on the wall above the doorframes, except for one door in the middle of the wall across from the stairs. Dust carefully walked over to that door, and slowly opened it, entering in the same manner. The room was fairly empty, containing a few cleaning supplies, a tall bookshelf with a few old books on it, and a rolled-up extra rug.

"Hm.." Dust pondered as he scanned the small area, walking over to the bookshelf. He pushed it out of the way to see if there was a passageway behind it, but nothing. He moved the rug and the cleaning instruments around too, but he didn't find anything.

"Do you really think something is hidden in here?" Ahrah questioned.

"I'm not sure," Dust answered. "But I have to check everywhere or I might miss something important."

He meticulously started looking on the floor and in the corners of the room. When he began searching against the walls and moving up, he noticed a small square hatch on the ceiling, that seemed like it could come open. "That looks promising."

Moving the bookshelf even more so that it was against the other wall, Dust carefully used it like a ladder to reach the ceiling. He pushed on the hatch and climbed up through it, discovering another room, this one a bit larger and taller. It was filled with a light steam across the ground, and lined with box-like chambers against the back wall that almost reached the ceiling; each one had a closed door on the front, except for the last one all the way to the right.

Dust knocked on a few of the doors and tried opening them, but they were all locked and received no response. Cautiously, he walked over to the one stall that was open and peeked into the cramped container, but it was completely empty except for a plate mirror that completely covered the top of the space.

As he was inspecting, something suddenly caught Dust off-guard and shoved him forward into the chamber, with the door slamming shut and locking right after. "What..? Who's there?!" No one responded. Dust started banging against the closed door but it didn't budge.

"Hey hey, quit it or you'll wake our precious guests!"

The unseen voice was immediately recognizable. "Mirage! Explain yourself!"

"Why should I tell you anything?" The dancer's voice spoke from above the cell. Dust looked up and saw that the mirror had disappeared and Mirage's eyes were playfully gazing down upon him, her head tilted and rested on her fist.

Dust yelled at her from below. "I know something's going on here!"

"Okay fine," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Yes, something _is_ going on in this lovely hotel," she continued, flicking her hand outward and causing the walls between Dust's cell and the others to turn completely transparent. Dust's look grew concerned as in each block he saw individuals that were sulking, laying down, and hunched over; clearly depressed.

"Wha.. What did you do to them?!"

Mirage giggled. "Oh I didn't do much.. See, it goes like this: sad losers come to Hotel Clarity to escape their pathetic, lonely lives; I bring them to this room to suck all the negative energy out; then they stay for as long as they want, while I release the concentrated bad feelings into Aura and beyond!"

"..But how.. and why? What's your goal?" Dust pried.

"Oh now that's a secret~! One that I can't let you know," she teased, flicking her hand again to reconceal the prisoners so Dust could no longer see them. "..Not that you'll be alive to find out anyways."

After that ominous line, the container started to fill with water coming in from the floor, slowly increasing in volume. Dust nervously looked down, realizing he would drown if he didn't find a way to break out. "You're insane..!"

"Aw, thank you~ What lovely last words," Mirage let out as the mirror reappeared over the cell and she disappeared.

"Mirage!" Dust yelled as the water rose.

Ahrah finally spoke. "That's no use, Dust. We must escape ourselves!"

Dust gritted his teeth and tried slamming against the door in a sideways ram, but it barely took a hit. He tried a few more times, then began slashing Ahrah against it as hard as he could with such little space. Not even a scratch. The water was up to his knees, gradually rising faster. "Damnit.."

"Try the wall behind us," Ahrah suggested, prompting Dust to turn around and use the same techniques as he did on the door, but with no success. Now the water had filled up to just below his stomach.

"..Wait, what about the mirror?" Dust looked up into his reflection, and thrust Ahrah at it with all his strength. A tiny crack appeared in the thick glass. Dust turned slightly hopeful, but he had to hurry or else he wouldn't make it out in time. He jabbed Ahrah straight upwards again and again, the mirror's glass shattering little by little each time.

As the water came up to Dust's chest, he hit the mirror with one last strike, completely shattering the mirror, its glass shards falling into the pool around him. He then pushed off the ground with his feet and simultaneously used Ahrah to grasp the edge of the chamber's opening, to pull himself up and out of the water. Exhausted, he breathed heavily, resting on his hands and knees for a moment on top of the cell unit. Regaining strength, he jumped down to the floor outside the stalls. He thought about trying to break into the others to free the prisoners, but he had to chase after Mirage and stop her from doing any more damage. He climbed back down the hatch in the floor to the room below, then ran through the door and into the open hallway. Staying alert, he quickly tiptoed across to the stairs, descending them in a similar manner.

The ground floor was eerily silent and dark, with only one lamp lit and small amounts of the moon's light filling the area through the windows; a huge contrast to the bustling activity that occupied the room when they arrived. Dust cautiously stepped off of the stairs and out into the room near the stage. All of a sudden, the spotlights lit up from above and shone down onto the stage. Dust turned quickly to where they were focused, seeing Mirage balancing on one foot in a concentrated pose right in the middle, with her eyes closed and hands behind her back.

"So.. you _are_ the real Sen-Mithrarin. Haha, to be honest, I thought you were just an impostor."

Dust angrily took a fighting stance, holding Ahrah straight towards her from in front of the stage. "Alright Mirage, you better tell me just what you're doing, and why!"

Mirage snickered loudly, before returning to her conflicting, ominously tranquil state. "No no, how 'bout I just show you?"

Just then a large torrent of water sprouted up from the stage, blocking Dust's sight of her for the time it was flowing. When it ceased and fell back down, Mirage was standing in a new pose, stylishly wielding a strange looking dagger-like weapon that let off a dark aura in random intervals. Dust analyzed the weapon, immediately noticing that it possessed features oddly similar to Ahrah's.

"..Mirage. _Where_ did you get that..?"

"Why don't you find out~?"

* * *

**[Phew, this one took longer than I thought, though it was a bit longer than the last few (maybe the longest), so yeah. I wanted to get this one done before March ended because it was the month I first got into Dust last year. I did also want to get another chapter done by this fanfic's one year anniversary but idk if that's gonna happen in time lol. But yeah here it is, hope you guys enjoy these developments :3c]**


	9. Oil and Water

_August 31, 2015_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 9 – Oil and Water**

* * *

As if on queue, Dust made the first move, pouncing forward and upwards to land on the stage and slash Ahrah at Mirage, but she quickly parried the strike with her own blade, much to Dust's surprise. She pushed back with great strength, causing Dust to slightly slide off his footing and bounce away from her, landing on the floor below the stage again.

"Dust," Ahrah spoke up. "That dagger is without a doubt one of the other Blades of Elysium. But her consciousness seems to be lying dormant; I can't communicate with her."

"Wait, are you saying that every Blade of Elysium can talk just like you?"

"Indeed. The Blades are like my brothers and sisters, and we share a kind of bond that I have to protect."

"I understand," Dust confirmed as he took an aggressive stance yet again. "Mirage, I don't want to hurt you, but I _will_ fight you if you won't give up willingly."

The dancer glared at him and laughed. "Give up? Willingly? Where would be the fun in that?!"

Mirage suddenly propelled forward off the stage, her arms held parallel in front of her and holding her weapon back, with small streams of water trailing behind her. Dust attempted to block her strike as she slashed her arms open and made contact with Ahrah with her own blade, but it hooked onto Ahrah's edge and pulled Dust sideways off of his balance, and off his guard. He bounced backwards away from Mirage immediately after in order to avoid getting hit by her body's eventual impact. She touched down on the floor, shaking off her failed attack by spinning around gracefully, the streams of water following her movement.

Setting her sights back on Dust, Mirage lunged forward again, but this time the water rushed violently and her blade was held right in front of her, preparing a different method of attack. Dust defended yet again, but she changed her stance at the last second, stabbing the dagger forward into Ahrah which commanded the torrents of water to gain momentum, bend around the sentient sword, and slam into Dust's chest, knocking him backwards several feet into the wall. He slid down to the floor right after, exhausted. Dust gritted his teeth and looked up, seeing Mirage just staring him down from across the room. The dark aura emanating from her weapon flared up more than before.

"Ugh.. What is going on with me?"

"Concentrate, Dust. Your skills may be a little rusty from your regeneration," Ahrah observed. "Remember our confrontations with Lady Tethys and Baron Kane? Just as we were able to quell their inner darkness and anger, I should be able to do the same with Mirage as I make contact with her weapon or herself."

Dust slowly got up from the floor, slightly leaning against the wall. "Sounds like a plan.. It's just the problem is that damn water; how is she controlling it like that?"

"..Of course," Ahrah realized. "That dagger must be the Blade of Evah. She is known to grant her wielder power over water, just as I give you power over wind. Each Blade of Elysium grants its bearer an element."

"That sounds juuust great," Dust responded sarcastically. Regaining more strength, he stood straight up as he held Ahrah firmly in front of him. _"Alright, better fight water with wind."_

Mirage finally broke her silence. "Aw c'mon, is that all the mighty Sen-Mithrarin has to showcase?"

He readied his next attack, which Mirage sensed and prepared her own to counteract his. He held Ahrah back on his side, and she leapt towards him just as she did before but with even more rushing streams of water and a more violent aura around Evah's blade. However, Dust was confident. "You haven't seen anything."

Before Mirage could land a strike on him, Dust moved Ahrah stylishly in a rush of slashes, sending multiple gusts of wind out in Mirage's direction, both disbanding the water strands and stopping Mirage mid-air, sending her backwards and down to the floor, sliding across it until she nearly hit the base of the stage.

"Ha.. h-haha, that's more like it," the dancer whispered while lifting herself up, straining her body as she leaned over sideways and got up. But when she looked back in Dust's direction, he was already dashing towards her for another encounter. She hastily lifted Evah in front of her to block his attack, and he struck directly with Ahrah just as she expected. The blow brushed away and dissipated a chunk of Evah's dark aura, calming it a bit, just as Ahrah said.

Dust pushed backwards off of Mirage's guard and landed in front of her. "Defending won't do you any good, Mirage. I'm not trying to kill you, I'm trying to _save_ you."

"Save me..? From what? You just keep saying all these weird things, stop it!"

Ignoring her command, Dust's look became stern. "Mirage.. You're being corrupted by some unknown force. Don't you see that aura around your dagger? That's one of the Blades of Elysium, Evah. I need to know where and how you got it; it's a very important artifact."

"I.. I don't believe you!" Mirage yelled. "This dagger has been passed down in my family for generations.. a-and.. I won't let you take it from me!"

"What?" Ahrah began, surprised. "That's not possible; the remaining four Blades of Elysium have been lost before even your parents were-"

Mirage then loudly interrupted, "Don't you _dare_ talk about my parents!"

For some reason, that comment ignited a fire inside Mirage's soul, causing her following actions to become fueled by that sudden rage. She lunged at Dust with Evah pointed straight forward at the end of her extended arm. He defended once again, as Evah came in contact with Ahrah, but Mirage then shifted her attack into a series of reckless slashes against Ahrah, catching Dust off guard. He clenched his fists tightly around Ahrah and gritted his teeth in reaction to Mirage's surprising burst of aggression, sparks flying right in front of him.

Dust became more annoyed and exhausted. "Why won't you listen to me, Mirage?!"

"Why should I?!" She screamed over him and her own strikes. "Everything was fine until you and your weird talking sword showed up! And I thought I could have a chance with you.. J-Just get out!"

As her onslaught continued, Dust felt himself reaching his breaking point, and he knew Ahrah probably wasn't taking her hits well either. His frustration rising, he analyzed Mirage's movements for a moment, then, all in quick succession, he moved his body back just slightly to be out of hit range, flipped Ahrah in a downwards arc, and swiped the blade through an opening in Mirage's flurry of attacks, hitting her directly in the abdomen while tearing into her clothing. The blow catapulted her across the room for the last time, her screams resonating through the hall as she painfully landed on the floor near the back corner of the room, visibly defeated. A final cloud of dark aura flowed out of her Blade of Elysium and gradually disappeared as it lifted up to the ceiling.

Staring and shaking in awe at what he had just done, Dust immediately became concerned, his Jin half coming through in full force. "..Mirage!"

He released Ahrah from his grip and ran over to her as fast as he could. She was just laying there with her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Evah was on the ground a few feet away, without any aura surrounding her. Dust noticed that Mirage had no wound from where he struck her; the strange energy must've shielded any intentional physical attack inflicted on her body. He kneeled down and held her head in his hands.

"Mirage.. Can you hear me?"

"..That's not my name," she said quietly a few moments later, as she strained to open her eyes and look up at Dust. He looked into them, both relieved and confused.

"It's not? Then what's your real name? And why do you call yourself that?"

She turned her head back down to the side. "_Nadia_ is my birth name.. Mirage is just a stage name. I became the manager and lead dancer here, after.."

"..A-After," she stuttered, covering her face with her hands. She made a faint sniffing sound, and when she slowly removed her hands, Dust noticed she had tears welling up in her eyes.

"What happened, Nadia?" Dust asked compassionately.

The dancer nervously looked back at him. "After my parents passed away a few years ago. M-My father was killed in a Warmblood-Moonblood battle that came through this village.. and.. my mom d-died not long after that," she explained, trailing off at the end which transitioned into loud sobbing. Dust was taken by surprise, but he held her closer and she turned her head towards his chest, tears flowing down her face.

"Shh," Dust whispered, comforting her as he rubbed her head softly. "It's okay, I understand how you're feeling."

Nadia sniffed and looked back up at him, wiping away some of the tears. "..You do?"

"Sort of," Dust began. "I.. know someone whose parents were killed-"

"Jin?"

He was shocked she had heard the name, though he was thinking of Ginger. "You know about him?"

"Of course," she responded. "He's part of your legend; it's widely known."

Pondering for a minute, Dust sat down, still holding the girl's head. "Can I ask you some important questions, Nadia?"

"Sure, it's.. the least I could to do say sorry for everything," she said as she finally got up, sitting across from Dust.

"Thank you. First off, where did you get that dagger? It's one of the Blades of Elysium that belongs to the Moonbloods and has been lost for over 200 years.."

"I.. I can't remember. As long as I can think back, I've had it since I became manager of the hotel. It's just been in my family from when my parents were alive," Nadia answered, scratching her head.

Dust shook his head, confused. "That makes no sense.. Something's not right. Ahrah, do you have any ideas?"

"I'm not completely sure, but I have a theory," Ahrah began, Nadia looking on in awe as the sword spoke. "Nadia not remembering events, what we know and what she's saying not lining up; it's possible that the strange aura that came from Evah causes memory loss, and perhaps even.. memory alteration."

Something in Dust's mind clicked. "That's it! Remember when Nadia said she drained the negative energy out from the guests and released it into Aura? That would explain why that angry villager or the door attendant didn't recognize me; that energy must've caused their memories of me to be erased or altered, as well as Nadia's memories related to Evah's origins. But it doesn't explain where that dark aura even came from. Maybe Evah was corrupted somehow, which is why you couldn't communicate with her?"

"_Can't_ communicate," the sentient blade corrected. "I'm failing to make contact with her presence even now."

Dust and Nadia looked over at the dagger that was lying not too far away. Dust walked over to it and picked it up, feeling no energy reacting to his touch.

Ahrah observed, "Her consciousness must still be dormant. Perhaps the Elder knows how to reawaken her."

"I sure hope so." Turning to Nadia again, Dust questioned, "Do you.. remember how you learned to take the negative energy out of people? That's quite a skill."

The girl seemed puzzled again as she got up and walked towards Dust. "It just came naturally.. It was as if that's what I was meant to do. Even though now I feel really bad about it."

"Is it possible you were being mind-controlled..? This whole thing is really crazy."

She thought for a second. "Maybe, I-I just wish I could remember.."

"It's alright, you've been through a lot," Dust said as he hugged her tight. After letting go, he held up Evah, asking politely, "Um, you don't mind if we take this with us, do you?"

"Not at all, if what you're saying is true, then it really belongs to you," the dancer answered. "Sorry I'm not much help, but I'll send a message over to you guys in Aurora if I do end up remembering anything important."

Dust looked at her and smiled. "Thanks a lot, Nadia. Hopefully everything here goes back to normal soon."

The girl smiled back at him, and shyly kissed him on the cheek.

"..Thanks for saving me."

* * *

It was past midnight, almost into the early morning. Back upstairs in the hotel room, Dust nudged at the Nimbat as she was still sound asleep in her bed.

"Fidget? Fidget.."

She mumbled quietly, "N-No, Dust.. that doll's freakin' creepy.."

Dust chuckled to himself, before quickly lifting the covers up from the bed, causing Fidget to roll off onto the floor.

"What who where?!"

"Fidget, it's just me, calm down," Dust answered, trying not to laugh over his words.

She seemed playfully angry. "Why did you wake me up? These beds are like heaven!"

"It's a long story-"

The Nimbat gasped. "Was there a FIGHT? ..And I missed it?!"

"Yes, and yes. C'mon, I'll tell you on the way back to Aurora. We should be able to make it there before noon."

"Do we have to go noooooow? It's so early.."

"Yeeees, Fidget. We have important information and _evidence_ for the Elder," Dust explained, presenting Evah to her.

Fidget's eyes lit up as she stared at the dagger. "Woah! It looks just like Ahrah!"

"Exactly," Dust began. "She's another one of the Blades of Elysium, Evah."

"Wow.." Fidget said in awe, poking the dagger's surface with her tiny paw. "Um, isn't it supposed to talk like Ahrah too?"

Dust lifted Evah back up. "Yeah, we think her consciousness is somehow lying dormant. Now let's get back to the palace."

"Alriiiight," Fidget agreed lazily, before flying up and landing on top of Dust's head. "But I'm laying up here until we get there, I need my beauty rest."

"Oh, of course," Dust responded sarcastically, as he stepped out of the room.

Walking down the stairs to the front of the foyer and opening the front doors, he finally checked out of Hotel Clarity.

* * *

**[MAN. Finally got this chapter done. I think the reason it took so long was, there was a lot of details and plot-related things that I knew I had to put in this chapter, and it was kinda hard to think about which points I had to reveal and which I still had to keep secret (and I still think I might be forgetting some LOL). Also fight scenes are harder to write than I thought pfff. BUT I am pretty satisfied with how this one came out regardless, hopefully the next one gets done quicker c:]**


	10. Voyager

_January 31, 2016_

**먼지**

Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

**Chapter 10 – Voyager**

* * *

"So basically, Nadia was somehow being possessed by Evah into doing what she did.. or something along those lines," Dust explained to Fidget as he walked down the dirt path on their way back to Aurora Village.

The Nimbat was still laying on top of Dust's head. "Wow, spooky.."

"There's a lot more to say, but," Dust started, "It'll be better to tell the whole story once we meet up with the Elder again."

Fidget sighed absentmindedly, changing the subject. "Man, I miss those hotel beds.. They're soooo much more comfortable than your hair."

"You can go back there if you want, Your Majesty," Dust responded sarcastically. "Though if you do, you won't get to be in the next fight."

She paused for a second. "..Curses."

Just then, the sound of a familiar voice broke through the area from beyond one of the hills. "Hey, Dust! Fidget!"

"Corbin?!" They both answered in unison, seeing the young boy running up to them. He gave Dust an enthusiastic hug and quickly let go.

"You guys must've just finished your mission, huh?"

Dust gave him a smile. "Pretty much, you too?"

He smiled back widely. "You bet! I got some important info for you and Elder Gray Eyes."

"So do WE," Fidget proclaimed, flying off Dust's head and lifting the hand which grasped Evah.

"WOAH," Corbin let out in awe, holding the newly gathered Blade of Elysium in his hands. "You actually found one of the other Blades.. That's intense!"

"I know right?!" Fidget responded excitedly.

"How'd you guys get it though?"

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything to everyone when we get back to the palace," Dust answered as he began walking towards Aurora once more, with Corbin and Fidget right behind him.

* * *

The group opened the doors of Aurora Palace, as it became early morning. Light from the sun shone beautifully through the side wall windows to fill the building's foyer. Bean and Calum greeted their friends right as they entered the room.

"Oh, all of you are back!" Bean uttered with a smile. His eyes then instantly shifted focus to the new weapon that Dust held in his left hand. "..I-Is that another one of the legendary blades?!"

"Looks like it," Calum quietly observed.

Dust was about to speak, but Corbin responded for him. "That's RIGHT it is! Dust got it in Aurora!"

"Splendid! I knew you could do it, Dust. You must speak to the Elder right away; he's up in his room," Bean commanded.

"Of course," Dust responded, "I'll have him let you two know the details after we talk."

The pair of guards nodded and gestured towards the stairs leading up to the double doors of Elder Gray Eyes' room. The three adventurers followed their motions and walked up to the next level and through the doors. The Elder was sitting with Ginger at the table behind the curtains where he and Dust discussed the history of the Moonbloods earlier. They both turned towards the entrance as soon as they heard the sound of them entering.

Ginger spoke first, getting up from her seat. "You're back!" She ran over to tightly hug Dust.

"Good to see you again, Ginger," he said calmly as she let go.

"You too.."

"I didn't think you'd return so soon!" Elder Gray Eyes exclaimed, slowly standing up as well. He immediately noticed the second weapon in Dust's possession, and he became fixated on it. "Oh my.. You've found Evah.."

"Yes, the hotel manager Nadia was using her as a tool for spreading.. corruption in Aura, which appears to be the reason why people were acting strange. Nadia seemed to be possessed by Evah, who isn't currently displaying any consciousness like Ahrah does."

The Elder had walked over to the group as Dust was speaking and lightly held Evah up. Dust loosened his grip so the Elder could take the dagger into his own hands. "It's been so long.." He paused for a moment, before shifting his thoughts. "You said Nadia was being _possessed_? Ah, that poor, innocent child."

"Do you know her?

"Why yes," the Elder confirmed. "Aura Village was once as populated as Aurora back before the first time you walked on Falana, but since it became the site of one of Gaius' vicious rampages, it became abandoned for quite awhile. So, we helped the refugees rebuild it after you left us. Come, let's sit down."

Dust and Fidget followed the Elder to the table, with Corbin and Ginger close behind. The Elder placed Evah on the table in front of him, and intertwined his fingers once everyone was settled. "Alright, what else happened during your stay?"

Everyone turned towards Dust as he briefly recapped the events at Hotel Clarity. "..But the weirdest part was that before I saved her, Nadia said that Evah was passed down in her family for generations, which obviously wasn't true since the Blades had been lost for over 200 years. Ahrah and I believe this means that the so-called 'corruption' causes people's memories to become altered or even erased, which would also explain why some villagers didn't recognize me."

"Pshh yeah, it's not like you're hard to spot," Fidget commented.

"Interesting," Elder Gray Eyes pondered, "though extremely worrying. If that corruption kept spreading and eventually reached Aurora.."

"..I don't wanna think about that," Ginger chimed in, finishing the thought.

Moving the conversation along comfortably, the Elder turned to Corbin. "So what about your findings?"

The young boy began, "Well, I searched up near Alcaeus Village like you asked—that's kinda close to the Everdawn Basin, if you were wondering, Dust—and everything seemed fine.. until I noticed a bunch of arrests being made almost randomly and for no real reason. Those people were immediately taken to Alcaeus Prison.."

"What?! We have to go break them out!" Dust shouted, vigorously standing up with his hands firmly on the table. The others besides the Elder were taken aback.

"Calm down, Mithrarin. You'll save them, but we must be careful about it."

The riled up Dust sighed heavily then slowly sat back down. "Right.. you're right, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," the Elder consoled. "Now I know you're not familiar with the Alcaeus area, but its prison was where many of our own soldiers were held during that dark time, and.. Gaius himself ordered it to be built all those years ago, turning that entire region into a place of terror. It's been quiet in recent years, of course, but something's clearly going on now in wake of these arrests."

Dust looked down. "Gaius.. Even when he's gone, I can't stop hearing his name." Ginger gave him a concerned look.

"He may be gone, but his legacy still remains. It feels like more than coincidence that there's a disturbance in a location very familiar to him," Elder Gray Eyes explained.

"We should go then," Dust announced as he stood up, much more relaxed this time.

Fidget flew up to her usual spot on Dust's shoulder. "We got this, guys!"

The Elder responded, "Haha, you know I entrust you three with this task. You do remember how to get there, right, Fidget?"

"Oh yeah, tooootally! It's up in the.. you know, mountains and stuff."

Ginger giggled as Corbin nonchalantly whispered into the Nimbat's tiny ear. "It's _behind_ the Zenith Mountains, Fidget.."

"..I knew that."

"At any rate, make your way about halfway through Archer's Pass and take the ferry across Lake Nadir; Alcaeus will lie to the east," the Elder instructed.

"Got it," Dust confirmed. "We'll leave right away."

As he turned to walk out of the room, Ginger got up from her seat, hugged him and then kissed his cheek. "I believe in you."

He was slightly flustered at her gesture, but looked back towards her. "T-Thanks, Ginger.. I'm doing this for all of you.." She simply nodded with a smile, and the two heroes exited.

Shortly after, The Elder spoke once more. "Corbin, I want you to silently follow Dust to Alcaeus. Make sure nothing happens to him, and if something goes wrong, report back here immediately."

"Yes sir!" Corbin said as he bowed, then left the room.

The Elder got up from his seat and grabbed Evah off of the table. "Well then Ginger, I'm going to see if I can produce any response from Evah with Lady Tethys."

Ginger turned back to Elder Gray Eyes, changing the subject. "Dust really was worried about the people who were arrested, huh..?"

"Ah, yes, it seems his concern knows no bounds."

She pondered for a moment. "..I was just happy to see Jin in his eyes."

* * *

Outside of the palace, Dust and Fidget had travelled out of Aurora Village, en route to Archer's Pass.

"Hooboy, I wonder how Haley's gonna react when she sees you're alive!" Fidget exclaimed.

Dust was surprised. "Wait.. she wasn't at the big meeting with everyone?"

"Nah she's super busy these days, cuz after people heard that she made stuff for 'the legendary Sen-Mithrarin,' they all wanted something from her. She's got _da skills_."

"Well she's definitely good at what she does," Dust said, laughing.

"Her forge is still in the same place, but it's like, bigger and all redone and junk!"

"I'd love to see it. I really hope we get to meet up with her."

The heroes continued traversing the field as it became the elevated landscape that was Archer's Pass. The entire area was littered with a myriad of grass-covered rocky plateaus with low chasms interspersed below, while some chunks of land jutted outwards from the raised platforms in random directions, tree roots connecting a few of them. It was as if the land was heavily altered from either natural forces or the will of some great being. There were also a couple colossal stone-carved statues of unknown figures standing guard, assumed to be legendary heroes of the past. Dust was careful to skillfully jump over each pit as he progressed, in order to eliminate the time it would take to climb back up.

"Phew.. I forgot how exhausting it was jumping between these things," Dust said as he hunched over to rest on one of the plateaus.

Fidget looked at him, confused. "Really? You used to practically fly across this place!"

Ahrah spoke up for the first time in awhile. "Perhaps Dust's abilities have been weakened as a result of his regeneration. Only time will tell if they fully return."

"Hmm alright, let's keep moving."

He looked ahead to the remaining high rises of land and began bounding across them. As the group approached a more shaded area of the pass, an enigmatic figure suddenly appeared from out of the shadows. As soon as Dust noticed, he came to a halt in front of it.

"Careful, Dust," Ahrah warned.

"Right. ..Who are you?"

The figure appeared to be a soldier of some kind, wearing odd-looking armor and his face so overtaken by darkness that no one could see it. "Who I am is not important," he responded. "You will turn back, now."

"No way!" Fidget interrupted. "We don't listen to random evil-looking guys like you!" Dust readied Ahrah in his hands.

The soldier sighed under his breath. "Very well. My liege insists there's no possible way you can interfere at this point.. but for his sake, I can't let you even have the chance!"

With that statement, he pulled out a foreign-looking angled blade from its sheath and charged forward. Dust immediately reacted by leaping forward himself, holding Ahrah out to parry the soldier's blow. After the swords clashed, Dust grounded himself and poured all his strength into trying to knock his opponent's weapon out of his hands, but the soldier surprisingly hung on, instead thrusting his blade to throw Dust off balance. He quickly dodged the soldier's next slash attack by ducking underneath it and sliding to the side, ending in his own slash that hit the soldier on the back. Fidget swooped in and shot a flurry of her magical projectiles, but they glanced off the enemy's heavy armor with little damage incurred. Dust then performed a vertical spinning attack, which launched the soldier over to the edge of the foothold they were battling on. He just barely stopped himself from tumbling into the chasm below.

"Do you really think a single warrior like you can deter me?" Dust questioned confidently, pointing Ahrah directly in front of him towards the stranger.

"Hmph, it appears not. Fine then, continue on your meaningless journey," he taunted, then jumped backwards off the plateau into the darkness. Dust and Fidget were both briefly surprised, but regained their concentration on the path ahead.

Not much later, Dust came up to a familiar area with some noticeable changes. It was undoubtedly Haley's forge, but the land that it previously rested on was dug out, and replaced with a two-story storage unit built into the hillside; one floor most likely was the living quarters, and the other was probably filled with armor, weapons, and materials. On the side was a ladder and a pulley system that appeared to be used to lift materials and products up from the ground to the top of the structure where the improved forge stood.

"This is it!" Fidget announced, flying over to each of the windows to see if anyone was inside. "Haaaaaaley!"

"It looks really nice," Dust observed as he walked over to where the front door to the building was, opening it. He scanned inside but saw no one there, just furniture and appliances. Fidget flew over to him and into the room. "I don't think she's here, Fidget."

The Nimbat thought for a bit. "Oh yeah, she does kinda travel the world when she needs materials so I guess it was a small chance we'd see her here, haha.."

Dust comforted her. "It's alright, we can always see if she's here when we come back this way."

"Yeah, okay.." Fidget sadly responded as she flew out of the room. She seemed more let down than Dust should've been from not being able to see Haley again. Dust closed the front door and looked to both sides of the structure. He noticed a sign farther to the left side, so he walked over to it, with Fidget following. The sign listed some major locations and had acronyms corresponding to which cardinal direction they were in; both Aurora and Aura Village, Cirromon Caverns, Abadis Forest, and..

"Lake Nadir Ferry: To the north," Dust read. He looked into the distance and saw a few buildings and a port with a large, decorative boat docked there.

"Alright, let's go for a ride!" Fidget exclaimed, flying quickly to their destination. Dust immediately chased her down the hill to the first building he could reach. There was a distracted attendant sitting inside what looked like a ticket booth; she was absorbed in some kind of newspaper titled _The Elysian Times_.

Dust calmly asked, "Um excuse me, two tickets please."

"Yeah ok, that'll be 500 go-" the attendant began as she started to put down the paper, but when she noticed who she was talking to, her tone immediately changed. "Oh my gosh, i-it's you! Dust! I was just reading about you in the paper and I.. Holy crap, it's true!"

He was taken aback but remained himself. "Yes, it's really true. Nice to meet you."

"Oh wow, you too! Here's two tickets on the house, enjoy yourselves!"

Fidget was shocked. "Woah, thanks lady!"

"Thanks so much," Dust added.

"Not a problem. Safe travels!"

Dust walked over to the boardwalk where the ferry was docked as Fidget followed. No one else was really around; they were all relaxing and talking inside the spacious cabin in the middle of the ferry's deck, as it was probably about to leave. He stepped onto the boat, and walked towards the back.

Fidget skittishly followed him. "Hey, you don't wanna go inside with everyone else?"

"Not just yet."

That was all he said before leaning on the railing that wrapped around the entire edge of the ferry, staring back at the beautifully rugged landscape of Archer's Pass as the ferry began to depart. "_I'm so glad people remember me."_

* * *

**[Alright, it's definitely been way longer than I wanted to take between chapters this time. I'm not sure what it was, but this one just took forever; I guess I was really unmotivated to write it because it's basically a summary/buffer chapter. I hope you guys like it though and I'll totally work faster on the next one c:]**


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